Whitley, Knox, Bell, Laurel counties all report multiple additional COVID-19 cases Friday

Whitley, Knox, Bell and Laurel counties all reported additional COVID-19 cases Friday.

The Knox County Health Department reported 10 new COVID-19 cases Friday, including four children. This brings the total number of cases in Knox County to 174.

“We cannot encourage everyone enough to always use proper preventive measures, avoid large gatherings, wear a face mask, cover your cough or sneeze, and stay home if you are ill. 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.

The Knox County Health Department reported four new cases Thursday, five additional COVID-19 cases Wednesday, four additional COVID-19 cases Tuesday, and 10 additional COVID-19 cases Monday.

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 164 new COVID-19 cases diagnosed in Knox County.

Knox County reported its eighth COVID-19 fatality Thursday, which was the eighth patient to die from Christian Health Center in Corbin. The first five patients had pre-existing conditions.

Out of the first 119 Knox County cases, five patients were under the age of 18, 19 patients were ages 18-30, 14 patients were ages 31-40, nine patients were ages 41-50, 12 patients were ages 51-60, 10 patients were ages 61-70, 17 patients were ages 71-80, and 33 patients were over age 80.

Laurel County

The Laurel County Health Department reported seven new cases Friday, which range in age from a two-year-old to a 66-year-old.

Friday’s cases include: a 44-year-old female, a 66-year-old male, a 58-year-old female, a 19-year-old female, a 50-year-old male, a two-year-old male, and a 20-year-old male. All seven patients are recovering at home.

The Laurel County health department reported 18 new cases Thursday, five new cases Wednesday, seven new cases Tuesday, 10 new cases Monday, and eight new cases Sunday.

Laurel County now has a total of 314 COVID-19 cases out of which 114 people have recovered. Laurel County has 196 active cases out of which 187 cases are isolating at home, and nine cases are isolating in the hospital.

Laurel County has had four COVID-19 related deaths.

Between March 24 and June 4, there were 22 COVID-19 cases diagnosed in Laurel County. Since June 9, there have been an additional 292 cases reported there, according to the Laurel County Health Department.

Out of the 314 Laurel County cases, 31 patients were under the age of 18, 78 patients were ages 18-30, 51 patients were ages 31-40, 43 patients were ages 41-50, 41 patients were ages 51-60, 45 patients were ages 61-70, 16 patients were ages 71-80, and nine patients were over age 80.

A total of 7,081 COVID-19 tests have been performed in Laurel County as of July 20.

Bell County

The Bell County Health Department reported six new COVID-19 cases Friday. These new cases bring the total number of COVID-19 cases in Bell County to 216.

Bell County now has 90 active cases, including five, who are hospitalized: a 71-year-old female, a 95-year-old female, a 68-year-old female, an 87-year-old female and a 41-year-old female.

Bell County reported its second COVID-19 fatality on Thursday, July 23, which involved a 74-year-old female. On July 16, Bell County reported its first COVID-19 death, which was an 85-year-old male.

The Bell County Health Department reported eight new cases Thursday, 32 new cases of COVID-19 Wednesday, including 13 individual cases and 19 long-term care cases, eight new COVID-19 cases Tuesday, and six new cases Monday.

A total of 126 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 208 additional cases have been reported.

Whitley County

The Whitley County Health Department reported three new confirmed cases of COVID-19 Friday afternoon, and announced that it was removing one of the five cases that were reported Thursday after clarifying the current county of residence.

The Whitley County Health Department reported six new COVID-19 cases Wednesday, including four confirmed cases and two probable cases, four new COVID-19 cases Tuesday, including one confirmed case and three probable cases, six new cases Sunday.

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).

Whitley County now has a total of 80 COVID-19 cases, including 25 active cases. Two Whitley County residents are isolating in the hospital, and 23 Whitley County residents are isolating at home.

A total of 54 Whitley County patients have been released from isolation. On July 21, Whitley County reported its only COVID-19 death.

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 69 additional cases diagnosed.

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

Out of the 80 Whitley County cases, seven patients were under the age of 18, 10 patients were ages 18-20, 14 patients were ages 21-30, 16 patients were ages 31-40, 12 patients were ages 41-50, eight patients were ages 51-60, seven patients were ages 61-70, and six patients were age 71-80.

McCreary County

The Lake Cumberland District Health Department reported late Thursday evening that three new COVID-19 cases had been diagnosed in McCreary County.

These include a 43-year old female and a 31-year-old female, who are both symptomatic, and a 43-year-old male, whose symptom status is unknown.

The Lake Cumberland District Health Department reported McCreary County’s 21st COVID-19 case Monday.

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

Currently there are four active COVID-19 cases in McCreary County, which are all self-isolating.

Thursday’s cases raise the total number of COVID-19 cases in McCreary County to 24 with 20 cases having already recovered. So far, McCreary County has had no COVID-19 deaths.

Statewide cases

Gov. Andy Beshear reported Friday afternoon that there were 797 newly reported cases of COVID-19 statewide, including seven new deaths. A total of 19 of the new cases involved children ages five and under.

“Let’s make sure that we’re more committed than ever,” said Beshear. “Let’s make sure that we are not violating these basic rules that we know can help us. Let’s make sure we realize that each and every one of our actions can impact someone else. And let’s just realize that this thing is escalating in Kentucky, that we’re seeing more cases than we ever imagined before. And now is the time for everybody to recognize the severity of the situation that we’re in.”

This was Kentucky’s second-highest number of new cases in one day since the first case was reported on March 6.

On July 19 the state reported its highest number of new COVID-19 cases in one day at 979 cases.

Statewide, there have been 25,931 total positive cases of the COVID-19 virus in Kentucky, and 691 total deaths from the virus. Over 574,233 people in Kentucky have been tested for COVID-19, and more than 7,396 people have reported that they have recovered, according to the latest information on the Commonwealth of Kentucky’s official COVID-19 website.