Bell County reports second COVID-19 fatality in three days Friday; cluster of Knox County cases associated with Baptist Primary Care in Barboruville

The Bell County Health Department reported its second COVID-19 fatality in three days Friday afternoon.

Friday’s victim was a 68-year-old male, and was the fifth COVID-19 fatality reported in Bell County. On Wednesday, the Bell County Health Department reported the death of an 81-year-old male from COVID-19.

On Friday, the Bell County Health Department reported four new cases raising the total number of COVID-19 cases in Bell County to 304.

Bell County now has 74 active cases, including 10 who are hospitalized: a 66-year-old male, a 74-year-old male, a 70-year-old male, an 83-year-old male, a 79-year-old female, a 72-year-old male, a 73-year-old female, a 75-year-old male, another 75-year-old male and a 69-year-old female.

The Bell County Health Department reported seven new cases Thursday, 11 new cases Wednesday, two new cases Tuesday, four new cases Monday, five new cases Sunday, and three new cases Saturday.

A total of 230 people have recovered from COVID-19 in Bell County.

Bell County was one of the last counties in the state to report a positive COVID-19 case with its first positive case reported on May 16. Prior to June 29, Bell County had only reported eight positive COVID-19 cases, and since that time a total of 296 additional cases have been reported.

Knox County

The Knox County Health Department (KCHD) reported three new COVID-19 cases Friday, and announced that a cluster of positive cases is being associated with Baptist Primary Care in Barbourville.

“Knox County Health Department is working closely with management to ensure all employees are following proper recommendations. If you patronized this business on Monday, August, 3, 2020, or Tuesday, August 4, 2020, we encourage the public to monitor for symptoms of COVID-19,” said Knox County Health Department Director Rebecca Rains.

If you become ill and show signs of COVID-19 get tested.

The Knox County Health Department reported nine new cases Thursday, four new cases Wednesday, 12 new cases Tuesday, and eight new cases Monday.

Knox County has a total of 232 COVID-19 cases.

Between April 6 and May 30, Knox County reported 10 COVID-19 cases with all 10 patients having fully recovered by June 15. Since June 11, there have been 222 new COVID-19 cases diagnosed in Knox County.

Knox County reported its eighth COVID-19 fatality on July 23, which was the eighth patient to die from Christian Health Center in Corbin. The first five patients had pre-existing conditions. The status of the last three is unknown.

Out of the first 216 Knox County cases, 21 patients were under the age of 18, 45 patients were ages 18-30, 26 patients were ages 31-40, 26 patients were ages 41-50, 26 patients were ages 51-60, 13 patients were ages 61-70, 25 patients were ages 71-80, and 34 patients were over age 80.

As of Aug. 5, a total of 3,117 cases had been tested for COVID-19 in Knox County.

Laurel County

The day after reporting its fifth COVID-19 fatality, which involved 91-year-old male, the Laurel County Health Department reported five newly confirmed cases Friday, two of which are hospitalized.

Friday’s cases include: an 80-year-old male, who is hospitalized, a 54-year-old male, a 28-year-old male, who is hospitalized, a 66-year-old female, and a 62-year-old female.

The Laurel County Health Department reported 10 new cases Thursday, 10 new cases Wednesday, six new cases Tuesday, seven new cases Monday and eight new cases Saturday.

The Laurel County Health Department has a total of 417 overall cases, but did not indicate in Friday’s update how many have recovered, and how many are active.

Between March 24 and June 4, there were 22 COVID-19 cases diagnosed in Laurel County. Since June 9, there have been an additional 395 cases reported there, according to the Laurel County Health Department.

A total of 8,888 COVID-19 tests have been performed in Laurel County as of Aug. 3.

Whitley County

The Whitley County Health Department reported seven new COVID-19 cases Friday, eight new cases Thursday, four new cases Wednesday, six new cases Tuesday, and nine new cases Monday.

Whitley County now has a total of 160 COVID-19 cases, including 79 active cases. Four Whitley County residents are isolating in the hospital, and 75 Whitley County residents are isolating at home.

A total of 80 Whitley County patients have been released from isolation.

Between April 6 and May 17, Whitley County had 11 COVID-19 cases diagnosed, all of whom have been released from isolation.

Since June 8, Whitley County has had 149 additional cases diagnosed.

On July 21, Whitley County reported its only COVID-19 death.

Out of the 160 Whitley County cases, 20 patients were under the age of 18, 10 patients were ages 18-20, 29 patients were ages 21-30, 35 patients were ages 31-40, 21 patients were ages 41-50, 15 patients were ages 51-60, 13 patients were ages 61-70, 14 patients were age 71-80, and three patients were over age 80.

McCreary County

The Lake Cumberland District Health Department reported one new COVID-19 case Friday in McCreary County, which is a 16-year-old male, who is self-isolated but still symptomatic.

Two new COVID-19 cases were diagnosed Thursday in McCreary County, three new cases Wednesday, one new case Tuesday, two new COVID-19 cases Monday, and one new case Saturday, according to the Lake Cumberland District Health Department.

McCreary County has had a total of 44 COVID-19 cases, including 12 active cases, who are all in self-isolation, and 32 cases that have all recovered.

So far, McCreary County has had no COVID-19 deaths.

Statewide cases

Gov. Andy Beshear reported 573 new COVID-19 cases Friday, including 21 new cases involving children ages five and under. In addition, Beshear reported four new deaths Friday.

Statewide there have been 33,796 total positive cases of the COVID-19 virus in Kentucky, and 764 total deaths from the virus. A total of more than 684,356 people in Kentucky have been tested for COVID-19, and at least 8,523 people have reported that they have recovered, according to the latest information on the Commonwealth of Kentucky’s official COVID-19 website.

“We are in a place right now where this virus is spreading too much,” said Beshear. “Let’s beat COVID-19 so we don’t lose even more beloved Kentuckians.”