Laurel, Bell, Knox counties report new COVID-19 cases

Laurel, Bell and Knox counties are all dealing with increased cases of COVID-19, according to reports from all three county health departments Thursday.

The Laurel County Health Department announced Thursday that 12 new positive COVID-19 cases had been diagnosed, including: an 80-year old male, a 2-year-old female, a 43-year-old male, a 23-year-old male, a 34-year-old female, a 26-year-old male, a 61-year-old female, a 40-year-old male, a 47-year-old female, a 17-year-old female, a 43-year-old male, and a 22-year-old male.

Currently, there are a total of 125 active cases, out of which 10 are hospitalized, and 115 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 175 cases reported there, including a third fatality, according to the Laurel County Health Department.

Out of the Laurel County cases, 20 patients were under the age of 18, 48 patients were ages 18-30, 32 patients were ages 31-40, 23 patients were ages 41-50, 24 patients were ages 51-60, 32 patients were ages 61-70, 11 patients were ages 71-80, and seven patients were over age 80.

A total of 4,829 COVID-19 tests had been performed in Laurel County as of July 6.

Bell County

Thursday afternoon, the Bell County Health Department announced that there had been seven new positive COVID-19 cases reported Wednesday, and four new positive cases reported Thursday raising the total number of cases in the county to 77.

Previously, Bell County reported 11 new cases Tuesday, 12 new cases Monday, 17 new cases Sunday, and 13 new cases Friday.

Currently there are 63 active cases, including five people, who are hospitalized: a 63-year-old male, a 50-year-old female, an 85-year-old male, a 74-year-old female, and a 72-year-old male.

A total of 14 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 69 additional cases have been reported.

Knox County

The Knox County Health Department reported three new positive COVID-19 cases Thursday afternoon.

“We have been notified of three residents testing positive for COVID-19. We want to always encourage the community to use proper preventive measures every day, always wash your hands frequently, wear a mask, cover your cough, and get tested if you are ill. This brings the total number to be 95. 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,” said Knox County Health Department Director Rebecca Rains.

The Knox County Health Department announced five deaths Tuesday, that were tied to five patients at Christian Health Center, who tested positive for COVID-19. All five patients had pre-existing conditions.

On Wednesday, the Knox County Health Department announced some good news in the form of 22 positive COVID-19 cases that have now fully recovered, and that all close contacts have completed their isolation and quarantine time.

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 85 new COVID-19 cases diagnosed in Knox County.

Out of the first 75 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.

So far there have been a total of 1,828 people tested for COVID-19 in Knox County, according to a graphic released by the health department.

Whitley County

Monday afternoon, the Whitley County Health Department reported three new confirmed COVID-19 cases, and four new probable cases.

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).

“Specifically, these probable cases had antigen tests instead of PCR tests. The Health Department handles the cases the same in regard to isolation and contact tracing,” the Whitley County Health Department noted in Monday’s release.

These latest cases raise Whitley County’s total number of cases to 40.

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 29 additional cases diagnosed, including 19 cases diagnosed since June 29.

Currently there are 20 active cases in Whitley County with 19 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 first 39 Whitley County cases, three patients were under the age of 18, 14 patients were ages 18-30, seven patients were ages 31-40, five patients were ages 41-50, two patients were ages 51-60, four patients were ages 61-70, and four patients were age 71-80.

Other cases

The Lake Cumberland District Health Department reported McCreary County’s 18th COVID-19 on June 27.

As of July 6, there are no active McCreary County cases.

McCreary County reported its 13th COVID-19 case on May 9, according to the Lake Cumberland District Health Department.

Statewide, there have been 18,245 positive cases of the COVID-19 virus in Kentucky, and 612 deaths from the virus. At least 461,756 people in Kentucky have been tested for COVID-19, and 4,939 people have reported that they have recovered, according to the latest information on the Commonwealth of Kentucky’s official COVID-19 website.