Laurel County reports death of two patients with COVID-19 Friday

The Laurel County Health Department reported 22 new COVID-19 cases Friday, and that two COVID-19 positive patients had passed away.

“At this time it is unclear if the deaths were COVID-19 related. We will await confirmation from the Kentucky Department for Public Health before including them in our COVID-19 deaths,” the Laurel County Health Department wrote in a release Friday.

Friday’s new cases include: a 26-year-old male, a 36-year-old female, a 35-year-old male, a 68-year-old male, an 81-year-old female, a six-year-old female, a 10-year-old female, a 55-year-old male, a 40-year-old male, a 44-year-old male, a 50-year-old male, an 18-year-old female, a 41-year-old male, a 51-year-old female, a 60-year-old female, a 34-year-old female, a 23-year-old male, a 74-year-old female, a 30-year-old male, a 47-year-old female, a 71-year-old female, and a 43-year-old female.

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

The Laurel County Health Department has reported a total of 1,327 COVID-19 cases, including: 794 recovered cases, and 521 active cases, of which 20 are currently hospitalized. A total of 87 of the active cases occurred within congregate settings.

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

Out of the 1,327 Laurel County cases, 148 patients were under the age of 18, 257 patients were ages 18-30, 204 patients were ages 31-40, 193 patients were ages 41-50, 189 patients were ages 51-60, 165 patients were ages 61-70, 108 patients were ages 71-80, and 63 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 33.1, 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 14 new COVID-19 cases Friday, 19 new cases Thursday, 18 new cases Wednesday, 20 new cases Tuesday, 16 new cases Monday, 11 new cases Sunday, and two new cases Saturday.

Whitley County has had a total of 809 COVID-19 cases.

Whitley County has 162 active cases, including five people who are hospitalized, and 636 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 809 Whitley County cases, 69 patients were under the age of 18, 77 patients were ages 18-20, 144 patients were ages 21-30, 107 patients were ages 31-40, 102 patients were ages 41-50, 101 patients were ages 51-60, 78 patients were ages 61-70, 67 patients were age 71-80, and 64 patients were over age 80.

Whitley County’s COVID–19 current case incidence rate is 36.6, which places it in the red category.

Knox County

The Knox County Health Department reported 18 new COVID-19 cases Friday, including two positive cases involving children, 16 new cases Thursday, 14 new cases Wednesday, seven new cases Tuesday, and 29 new cases Monday.

“We have been notified that two 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.

Knox County has had a total of 805 COVID-19 cases, including 188 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 31.6 placing it in the red category.

Bell County

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

Bell County has had a total of 660 COVID-19 cases with two people currently hospitalized, including a 51-year-old female and a 59-year-old male.

Bell County currently has 71 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 36.2 placing it in the red category.

McCreary County

The Lake Cumberland District Health Department has reported a total of 260 COVID-19 cases in McCreary County as of Oct. 22.

Currently, there are 27 active McCreary County cases, which include one person, who is hospitalized, and the rest are in self-isolation. A total of 232 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 Friday is 14.1 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 Friday, Gov. Andy Beshear reported 1,457 new COVID-19 cases, and 16 new COVID-19 deaths.

“This week has been a tough week, with three out of the five highest days for new COVID-19 cases,” said Beshear. “This virus is everywhere. It is in your community. We need every community doing what it takes to defeat it.”

Statewide there have been 93,748 positive cases of the COVID-19 virus in Kentucky, and 1,396 total deaths from the virus. A total of 1,887,520 coronavirus tests have been performed in Kentucky, and at least 17,722 people have reported that they have recovered, according to the latest information on the Commonwealth of Kentucky’s official COVID-19 website.