Update: Fourth COVID-19 patient dies in Laurel County; Two additional Christian Health Center patients, one additional staff member test positive for COVID-19

Laurel County reported its fourth death due to COVID-19, and Knox County reported that two additional patients and one additional employee at Christian Health Center in Corbin had tested positive for COVID-19 Monday. In addition, Whitley and Bell counties also reported additional COVID-19 cases Monday.

The Laurel County Health Department reported late Monday afternoon that there had been 15 additional cases of COVID-19 reported since Saturday, including the death of an 88-year-old man on Monday.

Laurel County now has a total of 217 COVID-19 cases.

On Saturday, there were 10 new cases of COVID-19 in Laurel County, including: a 46-year-old female; a 19-year-old male, a 77-year-old female; a 44-year-old female, a 7-year-old male, a 35-year-old female, a 2-year-old female, a 34-year-old female, a 20-year-old female, and a 5-year-old female.

On Sunday, there were three new cases reporting, including: a 60-year-old female, a 59-year-old female, a 38-year-old female.

On Monday, there were two new cases reported involving a 50-year-old female and a 30-year-old female.

All 15 new cases are recovering at home.

The Laurel County Health Department announced Friday that five new positive COVID-19 cases had been diagnosed.

Currently, there are a total of 144 active cases, out of which nine are hospitalized, and 135 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 195 cases reported there, according to the Laurel County Health Department.

Out of the Laurel County cases, 22 patients were under the age of 18, 52 patients were ages 18-30, 37 patients were ages 31-40, 27 patients were ages 41-50, 28 patients were ages 51-60, 32 patients were ages 61-70, 12 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.

Knox County

The Knox County Health Department reported a total of 13 new cases Monday, including the two Christian Health Center patients and one employee. This brings the total number of positive COVID-19 cases in Knox County to 115.

One of Monday’s positive cases involved a child, but officials didn’t disclose the age or gender of the child.

“While the threat to the community remains low, we are seeing an increase in the amount of community spread of COVID-19. All epidemiological tracing and contact information are ongoing with these cases. Any close contacts will be notified by the Knox County Health Department,” said Knox County Health Department Director Rebecca Rains.

Previously, 46 patients and eight staff at Christian Health Center in Corbin tested positive for COVID-19, and five of those patients with COVID-19 later died. All had pre-existing health conditions. Two of the eight staff members resided in Knox County.

Late Friday evening, the Knox County Health Department reported that seven additional Knox County residents had tested positive for COVID-19.

On Thursday, the Knox County Health Department reported three additional cases.

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 105 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.

Whitley County

The Whitley County Health Department announced Monday that it had received notice of three new COVID-19 cases. Two of the cases are confirmed and one is probable raising Whitley County’s total number of COVID-19 cases to 45.

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).

The Whitley County Health Department reported two additional probable cases of COVID-19 in Whitley County residents Friday afternoon.

Whitley County has 12 active COVID-19 cases out of which one is isolating in the hospital, and 11 are isolating at home.

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 34 additional cases diagnosed, including 25 cases diagnosed since June 29.

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

Out of the 45 Whitley County cases, three patients were under the age of 18, five patients were ages 18-20, 12 patients were ages 21-30, nine patients were ages 31-40, six patients were ages 41-50, two patients were ages 51-60, four patients were ages 61-70, and four patients were age 71-80.

Bell County

The Bell County Health Department reported six additional COVID-19 cases Monday, raising the total number of cases in Bell County to 114.

The Bell County Health Department reported four additional COVID-19 cases Sunday afternoon, seven new cases Saturday, 20 new COVID-19 cases Friday, four new cases Thursday, and seven new cases last Wednesday.

Currently there are 84 active cases, out of which four people are hospitalized including: a 63-year-old male, a 50-year-old female, a 74-year-old female, and a 71-year-old female.

A total of 30 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 106 additional cases have been reported.

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.

Gov. Andy Beshear reported Monday afternoon that 272 newly reported cases of COVID-19 had been confirmed, including four new deaths.

Statewide, there have been 19,653 total positive cases of the COVID-19 virus in Kentucky, and 629 total deaths from the virus. At least 480,372 people in Kentucky have been tested for COVID-19, and 5,344 people have reported that they have recovered, according to the latest information on the Commonwealth of Kentucky’s official COVID-19 website.