Lexington breaks single-day record with 100 new COVID-19 cases. ‘No signs of slowing.’
The Lexington-Fayette County Health Department reported 100 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, marking the first triple-digit spike in cases the city has seen during the coronavirus pandemic.
The total number of cases in Lexington is now 2,711. There were 38 newly-confirmed cases in the 18-34 age range, the highest increase among any of the city’s specified age ranges. The 18-34 age range has the highest share of cases at 34 percent.
There were 11 new cases in children under the age of 18. It’s the first weekday in which there have been 10 or more new cases in kids this month, according to health department data. Gov. Andy Beshear said Thursday there are spikes in positive tests among children all over the state, especially in children 5 or younger.
The health department said the steady increase in cases shows “no signs of slowing.”
“Unless people take action to protect themselves and their loved ones, Lexington will likely continue to have more cases, leading to potential limitations in the capacity of our health care delivery system to take care of our sickest patients,” health department officials said in a statement posted to Facebook.
With nine new hospitalizations, there have now been 262 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in Lexington, according to health department data. Lexington-Fayette County has 2,185 licensed hospital beds and 367 intensive care unit beds, according to data from Kentucky’s COVID-19 dashboard.
There were no new deaths reported, leaving the total at 42. There were 52 new recoveries, according to health department data.
The spike in cases comes after Lexington reported some of its lowest numbers this month in recent days, including 37 new cases reported Wednesday morning. The next-highest single-day increase in Lexington was 83, on July 9.
This story was originally published July 24, 2020 at 9:57 AM.