Knox County reports two additional COVID-19 deaths from Christian Health Center; one COVID-19 death reported in Bell County

In regards to COVID-19, Thursday was a particularly bad day with new COVID-19 cases being reported in Knox, Bell, Laurel and Whitley counties, and with COVID-19 related deaths being reported in both Knox and Bell counties.

“We have been notified of seven residents testing positive for COVID-19. This brings the total number of positives for Knox County to be 126. We are also reporting two deaths at Christian Health Center, Corbin. It is always tragic to report any death, our hearts are with these families during this difficult time,” said Knox County Health Department Director Rebecca Rains.

This brings the total number of COVID-19 deaths from patients at Christian Health Center in Corbin to seven.

On June 26, 46 patients and eight staff at Christian Health Center in Corbin tested positive for COVID-19. On July 7, it was announced that five of those patients with COVID-19 had died. All had pre-existing health conditions.

On Monday, the Knox County Health Department reported that two additional Christian Health Center patients and one additional employee had tested positive for COVID-19.

The Knox County Health Department reported one good piece of news Thursday, which is that a total of 18 positive COVID-19 cases have fully recovered and all close contacts have completed their isolation and quarantine time.

Knox County currently has 69 active COVID-19 cases.

In regards to recent new cases, the Knox County Health Department reported three new COVID-19 cases Wednesday afternoon, two new cases Tuesday, and a total of 13 new cases Monday, including the three related to Christian Health Center.

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 116 new COVID-19 cases diagnosed in Knox County.

Out of the first 119 Knox County cases, five patients were under the age of 18, 19 patients were ages 18-30, 14 patients were ages 31-40, nine patients were ages 41-50, 12 patients were ages 51-60, 10 patients were ages 61-70, 17 patients were ages 71-80, and 33 patients were over age 80.

A total of 2,241 people have been tested for COVID-19 in Knox County as of July 16

Bell County

The Bell County Health Department reported eight new positive COVID-19 cases Thursday, including the county’s first death due to COVID-19.

“It is with great sorrow that we are announcing our first death in Bell County due to COVID-19, an 85-year-old male. Our hearts and prayers go out to his family,” the Bell County Health Department stated in a release.

Bell County now has a total of 138 positive COVID-19 cases, including 72 active cases, out of which four people are hospitalized, including: a 48-year-old male, a 74-year-old female, a 71-year-old female, and a 76-year-old female.

The Bell County Health Department also confirmed eight new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday and Wednesday, six additional cases Monday, and four additional cases Sunday.

A total of 66 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 130 additional cases have been reported.

Laurel County

The Laurel County Health Department reported nine new cases of COVID-19 Thursday, one of which is hospitalized, and that six additional cases have recovered.

Thursday’s new cases include: a 38-year-old female, a 13-year-old male, a 41-year-old male, a 55-year-old female, a 57-year-old male, a 55-year-old female, a 72-year-old male, a 41-year-old female, and a 35-year-old female.

The Laurel County Health Department reported eight new cases Wednesday, five additional cases Tuesday, and that 15 additional cases had occurred between Saturday and Monday, including the death of an 88-year-old man on Monday.

Laurel County now has a total of 239 COVID-19 cases out of which a total of four have died.

Currently, there are a total of 121 active cases, out of which 13 are hospitalized, and 108 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 217 cases reported there, according to the Laurel County Health Department.

Out of the 239 Laurel County cases, 23 patients were under the age of 18, 57 patients were ages 18-30, 40 patients were ages 31-40, 32 patients were ages 41-50, 33 patients were ages 51-60, 34 patients were ages 61-70, 13 patients were ages 71-80, and seven patients were over age 80.

A total of 5,956 COVID-19 tests have been performed in Laurel County as of July 13.

Whitley County

The Whitley County Health Department reported Thursday that one additional COVID-19 case had been confirmed in a Whitley County resident. This raises the total number of COVID-19 cases in Whitley County to 54.

The Whitley County Health Department announced Wednesday that one new COVID-19 case had been confirmed, and seven additional cases of COVID-19 had been reported Tuesday, including four confirmed cases and three probable cases. On Monday the health department reported three new COVID-19 cases, including two confirmed cases and one probable.

A confirmed case means that a PCR test has identified virus genetic material, which usually comes from nose or mouth swabs, according to a graphic from the Whitley County Health Department.

A probable case is defined as a person meeting clinical criteria and epidemiologic evidence with no confirmatory laboratory testing performed for COVID-19; or a person meeting presumptive laboratory evidence and either clinical criteria or epidemiologic evidence; or a person meeting vital records criteria with no confirmatory laboratory testing performed for COVID-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

Whitley County has 11 active COVID-19 cases out of which two are isolating in the hospital, and nine are isolating at home.

A total of 43 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 43 additional cases diagnosed, including 34 cases diagnosed since June 29.

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

Out of the 52 Whitley County cases, three patients were under the age of 18, six patients were ages 18-20, 13 patients were ages 21-30, 11 patients were ages 31-40, six patients were ages 41-50, four patients were ages 51-60, six patients were ages 61-70, and five patients were age 71-80.

Other cases

The Lake Cumberland District Health Department reported McCreary County’s 19th COVID-19 Tuesday evening. The person is an 89-year-old male, who is hospitalized and still symptomatic.

Gov. Andy Beshear reported Thursday afternoon that 413 newly reported cases of COVID-19 had been confirmed statewide, including five new deaths.

Statewide, there have been 21,083 total positive cases of the COVID-19 virus in Kentucky, and 650 total deaths from the virus. At least 507,197 people in Kentucky have been tested for COVID-19, and 5,500 people have reported that they have recovered, according to the latest information on the Commonwealth of Kentucky’s official COVID-19 website.