Bell, Whitley and Laurel counties all report new COVID-19 cases Thursday

Whitley, Bell and Laurel counties are all reported new cases of COVID-19 Thursday, July 2.

On Thursday afternoon, the Whitley County Health Department reported four additional lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Whitley County residents. Since Monday a total of 12 people have tested positive for the coronavirus.

These latest cases raise Whitley County’s total number of cases to 33.

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 22 additional cases diagnosed.

Currently there are 17 active cases in Whitley County with 16 people isolating at home, and one person isolating in the hospital.

So far, the majority of Whitley County cases have involved people ages 50 and under.

Out of the 33 Whitley County cases, two patients were under the age of 18, 10 patients were ages 18-30, six patients were ages 31-40, five patients were ages 41-50, two patients were age 51-60, four patients were ages 61-70, and four patients were age 71-80.

Bell County

The Bell County Health Department reported its 13th and 14th COVID-19 cases Thursday afternoon.

On Wednesday, the Bell County Health Department reported its 10th, 11th and 12th COVID-19 cases.

On Monday, the Bell County Health Department reported that there was a 73-year-old male patient, who was hospitalized with underlying health conditions, and that there were two other patients currently recovering at home, in addition to six patients, who had already fully recovered.

Bell County was one of the last counties in the state to report a positive COVID-19 case with its first positive COVID-19 case reported on May 16.

Laurel County

The Laurel County Health Department announced late Thursday afternoon that there had been eight new cases of the coronavirus reported, which ranged in age from 25 years old to 59 years old, and that all eight patients are recovering at home. This raises Laurel County’s total number of cases to 145 cases.

The new cases include: a 40-year-old female, a 25-year-old male, a 54-year-old female, a 50-year-old male, a 29-year-old female, a 59-year-old female, a 51-year-old male, and a 56-year-old female.

Laurel County has 92 active cases out of which 10 people are undergoing hospital isolation, and 82 are isolating at home.

Between March 24 and June 4, there were 22 COVID-19 cases diagnosed in Laurel County out of which 20 people recovered and two died. Since June 9, there have been an additional 123 cases reported there, including a third fatality, according to the Laurel County Health Department.

Out of the Laurel County cases, 12 patients were under the age of 18, 31 patients were ages 18-30, 26 patients were ages 31-40, 17 patients were ages 41-50, 21 patients were ages 51-60, 25 patients were ages 61-70, seven patients were age 71-80, and six patients were over age 80.

A total of 4,191 COVID-19 tests had been performed in Laurel County as of June 29.

Knox County

Knox County, which has 75 positive COVID-19 cases, reported Thursday afternoon that the 11th, 12th and 13th positive COVID-19 cases had all fully recovered and that all close contacts have completed their isolation and quarantine time.

Knox County currently has 62 active cases.

Last week it was reported that 47 patients at Christian Care Communities in Corbin tested positive for the virus in addition to several staff members. Wednesday evening the health department issued a clarification about that number.

“We originally reported 47 positive residents. There are only 46 residents currently positive for COVID-19. We would like to applaud Christian Health Care for all their dedication and hard work to protect their residents and employees during this time. This makes the current total number of positive COVID-19 cases for Knox County to be 75. We always want to be translucent and report any inaccuracy to the public. We are dedicated to our mission, to strive every day to protect the health of the community in every possible way,” said Knox County Health Department Director Rebecca Rains.

“The threat to the community is low. All epidemiological tracing and contact information have been conducted with these cases. Any close contacts will be notified by the Knox County Health Department.”

Between April 6 and May 30, Knox County only reported 10 COVID-19 cases with all 10 patients having fully recovered by June 15.

Out of the Knox County cases, one patient was under the age of 18, seven patients were ages 18-30, eight patients were ages 31-40, eight patients were ages 41-50, five patients were ages 51-60, five patients were ages 61-70, 12 patients were age 71-80, and 29 patients were over age 80.

Other cases

The Lake Cumberland District Health Department reported McCreary County’s 18th COVID-19 case early Saturday evening. This was the county’s fifth case since June 20.

Currently there are two active McCreary County cases, who are all self-isolating.

McCreary County reported its 13th COVID-19 case on May 9, but the first 13 cases have all been released from isolation, according to the Lake Cumberland District Health Department.

Statewide, there have been 16,079 positive cases of the COVID-19 virus in Kentucky, and 581 deaths from the virus. At least 420,058 people in Kentucky have been tested for COVID-19, and 4,726 people have reported that they have recovered, according to the latest information on the Commonwealth of Kentucky’s official COVID-19 website.