Laurel, Bell, McCreary, Whitley counties report new COVID-19 cases Wednesday

Laurel, Bell, McCreary and Whitley counties all reported new cases of COVID-19 Wednesday.

The Laurel County Health Department reported 15 new COVID-19 cases Wednesday, which ranged in age from a 13-month-old to a 64-year-old.

Wednesday’s new cases include: a 64-year-old female, a 61-year-old male, a 61-year-old female (hospitalized), a 34-year-old male, a 47-year-old female, a 36-year-old male, a 27-year-old male, a 36-year-old female, a 13-month-old male, a 10-year-old male, a seven-year-old male, a 15-year-old male, a 37-year-old female, a 27-year-old female, and a 14-year-old female.

The Laurel County Health Department reported five new COVID-19 cases Tuesday, two new cases Monday, five new cases Sunday, three new cases Saturday, four new cases Friday, and six new cases Thursday.

The Laurel County Health Department has reported a total of 525 cases, including: 359 recovered cases, and 161 active cases, of which 10 are currently hospitalized.

Laurel County has had five COVID-19 fatalities with the most recent death happening on Aug. 6.

Between March 24 and June 4, there were 22 COVID-19 cases diagnosed in Laurel County. Since June 9, there have been an additional 503 cases reported there, according to the Laurel County Health Department.

Out of the 525 Laurel County cases, 62 patients were under the age of 18, 123 patients were ages 18-30, 89 patients were ages 31-40, 72 patients were ages 41-50, 76 patients were ages 51-60, 68 patients were ages 61-70, 25 patients were ages 71-80 and 10 patients were over age 80.

A total of 12,013 COVID-19 tests had been performed in Laurel County as of Aug. 24.

Bell County

The Bell County Health Department reported 13 new cases Wednesday, including one individual independent case and 12 long term care cases.

The Bell County Health Department reported one new COVID-19 case Tuesday, one new case Sunday, one new case Saturday, two new cases Friday, and nine new cases Thursday.

Bell County now has 79 active cases, including five who are hospitalized: a 66-year-old male, a 62-year-old male, a 75-year-old male, a 59-year-old male, and a 94-year-old male.

Bell County has had a total of 378 COVID-19 cases, including 299 people, who have recovered.

Bell County has reported nine COVID-19 deaths with the most recent death happening on Aug. 24. All of Bell County’s COVID-19 fatalities have involved patients ranging in age from 68-85.

McCreary County

The Lake Cumberland District Health Department reported eight new COVID-19 cases in McCreary Wednesday, which ranged in age from a 22-year-old to an 80-year-old.

Wednesday’s new cases included: a 65-year-old female, a 44-year-old female, a 29-year-old female, a 65-year-old male, a 22-year-old female, a 31-year-old female, an 80-year-old male, and a 69-year-old female. All eight cases are self-isolating but still symptomatic, except for the 80-year-old male, who is self-isolated and asymptomatic.

The Lake Cumberland District Health Department also reported Wednesday that one McCreary County case had been released from isolation.

The Lake Cumberland District Health Department reported three new COVID-19 cases in McCreary County Tuesday, nine new cases in McCreary County Monday, three new cases in McCreary County Sunday, and one new case in McCreary County Friday.

McCreary County has had a total of 79 COVID-19 cases, including 27 active cases. Two of the active cases are hospitalized and the remaining 25 cases are self-isolated. Three of these active cases are staff members at the McCreary County School District. 52 McCreary County cases are classified as not contagious or no longer isolated.

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

Whitley County

The Whitley County Health Department reported five new COVID-19 cases Wednesday, four new cases Tuesday, two cases Monday, two cases Sunday, two new cases Friday, and two new cases Thursday.

Whitley County has had a total of 187 COVID-19 cases.

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 176 additional cases diagnosed.

Whitley County has 26 active cases, including two people isolated in the hospital, and 24 isolated at home. A total of 159 cases have been released from isolation.

Whitley County has reported a total of two COVID-19 deaths with the first happening on July 21, and the second happening on Aug. 20.

Out of the 187 Whitley County cases, 22 patients were under the age of 18, 11 patients were ages 18-20, 38 patients were ages 21-30, 37 patients were ages 31-40, 24 patients were ages 41-50, 20 patients were ages 51-60, 14 patients were ages 61-70, 15 patients were age 71-80, and six patients were over age 80.

Knox County

The Knox County Health Department reported two new cases Tuesday, including a child, eight new cases Monday, seven new cases Friday, and three new cases Thursday.

Knox County has a total of 325 COVID-19 cases.

Knox County also announced Tuesday that 55 positive COVID-19 cases had recovered, and that out of the first 323 cases, 227 had recovered, and 86 cases were active.

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 313 new COVID-19 cases diagnosed in Knox County.

The Knox County Health Department reported its 10^th COVID-19 fatality on Aug. 21.

As of Aug. 25, 86 cases were still active and 227 had recovered.

Out of the first 323 Knox County cases, 37 patients were under the age of 18, 64 patients were ages 18-30, 40 patients were ages 31-40, 45 patients were ages 41-50, 41 patients were ages 51-60, 26 patients were ages 61-70, 33 patients were ages 71-80, and 37 patients were over age 80.

As of Aug. 25, a total of 3,863 COVID-19 tests had been performed in Knox County.

Statewide cases

On Wednesday, Beshear reported 696 new COVID-19 cases, including 114 cases involving children under age 18, and seven new deaths.

“We hope people out there are making good decisions, especially those that are in charge of our youth. I know this is a difficult time, but we need to be wise,” Beshear said. “We need to make sure that we make decisions based on science and on what’s in the best interest of those we serve and not just based on complaints.”

Statewide there have been 45,230 total positive cases of the COVID-19 virus in Kentucky, and 902 total deaths from the virus. A total of 839,454 people in Kentucky have been tested for COVID-19, and at least 9,691 people have reported that they have recovered, according to the latest information on the Commonwealth of Kentucky’s official COVID-19 website.

(Editor’s note: As of 9 p.m. Wednesday, a COVID-19 update had not been issued for Knox County. This story will be updated Thursday morning with any new information that is released after 9 p.m. Wednesday concerning COVID-19 cases in Knox County.)