Fayette County’s COVID-19 numbers have steadily increased since reopening in mid-May

Fayette County’s new coronavirus infections are on the rise as more and more businesses reopen and people return to work, health department figures show.

On Friday, the number of new COVID-19 cases was 28, and the total number of cases was 701.

All of those new infections were Fayette County residents, not inmates at a federal prison on Leestown Road, according to the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department.

It’s been almost 14 days since mid-May when many nonessential businesses started to reopen. It can take anywhere between two and 14 days for symptoms of the highly contagious virus to appear.

Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton said Thursday that the rise in positive COVID-19 cases since reopening is troubling.

“We do have an uptick in positive cases since reopening,” Gorton said during a Thursday Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council meeting. Those new positives are not related to the outbreak at the Federal Medical Center, Gorton said.

Approximately 40 percent of Fayette County’s coronavirus cases are federal inmates, she said.

The number of new positive cases Friday equaled the uptick in cases reported Thursday, which was the largest single-day increase since the city reported 72 new cases on May 14.

Of Thursday’s 28 new cases, 20 were inmates at Federal Medical Center, the federal prison on Leestown Road. The prison has struggled to contain an outbreak that has killed four inmates since the beginning of May.

Kevin Hall, a spokesman for the health department, said the number of new infections not connected to the Federal Medical Center has steadily increased over the past several weeks.

“We appear to have had a steady rate since about the second week of May, though it is certainly higher than what we observed throughout April,” Hall said.

Hall said the department has stressed the relaxation of restrictions and reopening of businesses does not mean the threat of the spread of the virus has lessened.

“We always try to remind everyone that the phased reopening is not meant to be a signal this is behind us —we must continue to be vigilant about following the public health guidelines, including washing hands frequently, wearing masks when in public and maintaining physical/social distancing,” Hall said.

Of Lexington’s 701 cases, 110 have been hospitalized.

As in other states, black Kentucky residents have been disproportionately affected by the virus. As of Friday, 33 percent of those infected are black. Forty-one percent of those hospitalized are black.

Males also have been affected more than females with 63 percent of infections occurring in males.

As for ages, 36 percent of those affected were between the ages of 35 and 54 while 31 percent were between the ages of 55 and 74.

Testing is more widely available in Fayette County. But there are likely more positive cases than the numbers reported.

Of the 701 Fayette cases so far, 44 percent or 310 were considered recovered. Of the 110 hospitalized, 41 percent recovered.

The city has had 13 deaths from the coronavirus.

This story was originally published May 29, 2020 at 10:33 AM.