For second day in a row, Laurel, Whitley, Bell and Knox counties report double-digit increases in new COVID-19 cases

For the second straight day, Laurel, Whitley, Bell and Knox counties all reported double-digit increases in their number of new COVID-19 cases Thursday.

The Laurel County Health Department reported 19 new COVID-19 cases Thursday, 26 new cases Wednesday, 11 new cases Tuesday, 41 new cases Monday, 15 new cases Sunday, 21 new cases Saturday, and 15 new cases Friday.

Thursday’s new cases include: a 60-year-old male, a 44-year-old male, a 27-year-old male, a 25-year-old female, a 72-year-old female, a 17-year-old female, a 68-year-old male, a 28-year-old male, a 28-year-old female, a 22-year-old female, a 15-year-old male, a 48-year-old female, a 60-year-old male, a 21-year-old male, a 56-year-old female, a 22-year-old female, a 29-year-old male, a 75-year-old female, and a 79-year-old female, who is hospitalized.

The Laurel County Health Department has reported a total of 1,302 COVID-19 cases, including: 794 recovered cases, and 501 active cases, of which 19 are currently hospitalized. A total of 87 of the active cases occurred within congregate settings.

Laurel County has reported 10 COVID-19-related deaths with the two most recent deaths being reported on Oct. 13.

Out of the 1,302 Laurel County cases, 146 patients were under the age of 18, 253 patients were ages 18-30, 200 patients were ages 31-40, 188 patients were ages 41-50, 186 patients were ages 51-60, 161 patients were ages 61-70, 106 patients were ages 71-80, and 62 patients were over age 80.

A total of 21,292 COVID-19 tests had been performed in Laurel County as of Oct. 19.

Laurel County’s COVID–19 incidence rate is 31.7, placing it in the red category.

A county with a COVID-19 rate over 25 cases per 100,000 people is considered critical, which is signified on the state map with the color red. A county with a rate between 10-25 cases per 100,000 people is considered accelerated and is shown as orange on the state map. A county with 1-10 cases per 100,000 people is considered to have community spread and is signified on the state map with the color yellow. A county with less than one case per 100,000 people is considered on track and is signified by the color green on the state map.

The incidence rate for each county may be found online at www.kycovid19.com.

Whitley County

The Whitley County Health Department reported 19 new COVID-19 cases Thursday, 18 new cases Wednesday, 20 new cases Tuesday, 16 new cases Monday, 11 new cases Sunday, two new cases Saturday, and 22 new cases Friday.

Whitley County has had a total of 795 COVID-19 cases.

Whitley County has 172 active cases, including five people who are hospitalized, and 612 cases have been released from isolation.

Whitley County has had a total of 11 COVID-19 deaths with the most recent death having been reported on Oct. 20.

Out of the 795 Whitley County cases, 67 patients were under the age of 18, 76 patients were ages 18-20, 143 patients were ages 21-30, 102 patients were ages 31-40, 101 patients were ages 41-50, 99 patients were ages 51-60, 77 patients were ages 61-70, 66 patients were age 71-80, and 64 patients were over age 80.

Whitley County’s COVID–19 current case incidence rate is 34.3, which places it in the red category.

Bell County

The Bell County Health Department reported 16 new individual COVID-19 cases Thursday, 15 new cases Wednesday, five new cases Tuesday, 17 new cases Monday, seven new cases Sunday, four new cases Saturday, and four new cases Friday.

Bell County has had a total of 651 COVID-19 cases with two people currently hospitalized, including a 51-year-old female and a 59-year-old male.

Bell County currently has 80 active cases.

Bell County has reported a total of 21 COVID-19 deaths, which have all ranged in age from 62-97. The most recent death was reported on Oct. 15.

Bell County’s COVID–19 incidence rate is 35.1 placing it in the red category.

Knox County

The Knox County Health Department reported 16 new COVID-19 cases Thursday, 14 new cases Wednesday, seven new cases Tuesday, 29 new cases Monday, and 19 new cases Friday.

“We have been notified that five of these cases are from a congregated setting. We encourage all community members to remember to use proper preventative measures at all times,” the Knox County Health Department wrote in a release about Thursday’s new cases.

Knox County has had a total of 787 COVID-19 cases, including 184 active cases.

Knox County has had a total of 14 COVID-19 deaths with the three most recent deaths occurring on Oct. 14.

Knox County’s COVID–19 current incidence rate is 31.2 placing it in the red category.

McCreary County

The Lake Cumberland District Health Department has reported a total of 252 COVID-19 cases in McCreary County as of Oct. 21.

Currently, there are 20 active McCreary County cases, which include one person, who is hospitalized, and the rest are in self-isolation. A total of 231 McCreary County cases are classified as not contagious, and there has been one McCreary County COVID-19 fatality.

McCreary County’s COVID–19 incidence rate Thursday is 16.6 placing it in the orange category.

(Editor’s Note: The Lake Cumberland District Health Department, which McCreary County is a part of, typically doesn’t post updates on its cases until early to late evening. This is why the previous day’s totals are posted in this story.)

Statewide cases

On Thursday, Gov. Andy Beshear reported 1,330 new COVID-19 cases, and 17 new COVID-19 deaths.

Statewide there have been 92,299 positive cases of the COVID-19 virus in Kentucky, and 1,380 total deaths from the virus. A total of 1,868,134 coronavirus tests have been performed in Kentucky, and at least 17,627 people have reported that they have recovered, according to the latest information on the Commonwealth of Kentucky’s official COVID-19 website.