Update: Knox, Laurel counties report new COVID-19 cases Thursday

Both Knox and Laurel County reported new COVID-19 cases Thursday.

The Knox County Health Department reported its 13th COVID-19 case.

“Knox County Health Department (KCHD) is collaborating with the Department for Public Health (DPH) to track individuals who had close contact with these cases and are at risk for infection. Those individuals will be instructed on proper quarantine measures and monitored to safeguard their own health and health of the public,” the Knox County Health Department wrote in a release.

“Conducting contact investigations is a prior for KCHD. The goal of a contact investigation is to successfully stop the transmission and prevent future cases of COVID-19. KCHD will conduct an in-depth investigation of all contacts to the patient. These individuals will be notified as soon as they have been identified. If you are not contact by this office, then you are considered as having no more risk than the general public at this time.”

Between April 6 and May 30, Knox County reported its first 10 COVID-19 cases with all 10 patients having fully recovered by Monday, June 15.

Knox County reported its 11^th COVID-19 case on Thursday, June 11, and its 12^th COVID-19 case on Saturday, June 13. Both cases are active.

Out of the first 12 Knox County cases, one patient was under the age of 18, one patient was ages 18-30, five patients were ages 31-40, two patients were ages 41-50, two patients were ages 51-60, and one patient was age 61-70, according to the Knox County Health Department.

A total of 896 people have been tested in Knox County.

Laurel County

The Laurel County Health Department announced its 55th COVID-19 case Thursday.

One of Laurel County’s cases reported Wednesday was transferred to a different county leaving its total at 55 cases, and its total of active cases at 31. Three patients are isolating at the hospital, and 28 patients are isolating at home.

Between March 24 and June 4, there were 22 COVID-19 cases diagnosed in Laurel County. Since June 9, there have been an additional 33 cases reported there, according to the Laurel County Health Department.

Additionally, Laurel County has had two patients pass away due to the virus.

Out of the Laurel County cases, four patients were under the age of 18, 11 patients were ages 18-30, 11 patients were ages 31-40, four patients were age 41-50, seven patients were ages 51-60, 13 patients were ages 61-70, three patients were age 71-80, and two patients were over age 80.

A total of 2,731 COVID-19 tests have been performed in Laurel County as of June 15.

Whitley County

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 seven additional cases diagnosed.

“We have received notice today of three new cases of COVID-19 in Whitley County residents. This brings our total cases to 18. We are happy to announce that one of our previously announced cases has been released from the hospital and one person has been released from isolation,” the Whitley County Health Department wrote on its Facebook page Wednesday.

Out of the six active cases, two patients are being quarantined at the hospital, and the other four are quarantining at home, according to the Whitley County Health Department.

The majority of Whitley County cases have involved people ages 50 and under.

Out of the 18 Whitley County cases, one patient was under the age of 18, four patients were ages 18-30, four patients were ages 31-40, two patients were ages 41-50, one patient was age 51-60, two patients were ages 61-70, and four patients were age 71-80.

Other cases

Bell County didn’t report its first COVID-19 case until May 16, and now has multiple confirmed cases.

On Thursday, June 11, the Bell County Health Department reported its fifth COVID-19 case.

McCreary County reported its 13th COVID-19 case on May 9, but all 13 cases have now been released from isolation, according to the Lake Cumberland District Health Department.

As of 4 p.m. Thursday, there were 13,197 positive cases of the COVID-19 virus in Kentucky, and 520 deaths from the virus. At least 336,267 people in Kentucky have been tested for COVID-19, and 3,506 people have reported that they have recovered, according to the Commonwealth of Kentucky’s official COVID-19 website.