Lexington reports 131 cases of coronavirus Saturday; KY has 801 new cases, 8 deaths
Kentucky reported 801 new cases of coronavirus on Saturday and eight more deaths, as the state’s rate of positive cases swung above 6 percent.
“Today is a tough day in our fight against COVID-19,” Gov. Andy Beshear said in a news release. “I know we are slowing the growth of this virus in Kentucky, but it’s still aggressive. We simply need to do better.”
Kentucky’s positivity rate is 6.02 percent, which Beshear said “is the highest we’ve had since we tested the entire Green River Correctional Facility back in May.”
Beshear said Saturday’s new cases included 29 children ages 5 and under and bring the state’s total cases to 34,578.
Coronavirus-related deaths total 772 people. The eight deaths reported Saturday include a woman, 64, from Fulton County; a woman, 56, from Kenton County; a man, 68, from Bell County; a man 93, and a woman, 97, from Christian County; a woman, 66, from Pulaski County; a woman, 82, from Clinton County, and a woman, 73, from Muhlenberg County.
There are 653 people hospitalized with the virus and 149 in intensive care, according to state data.
The Lexington-Fayette County Health Department reported 131 new cases of coronavirus Saturday morning, a new single-day high for the city.
There were 84 new cases reported Friday.
Saturday’s increase was driven partly by the outbreak at the Fayette County Detention Center. Health department spokesman Kevin Hall said 52 of the new cases reported Saturday were among jail inmates, and one was a jail employee.
Hall said five of the new cases were University of Kentucky students.
UK is requiring students arriving on campus to be tested by the university or submit a test result from another provider within seven days. As of Wednesday, UK had tested 4,950 students, 31 of whom were positive for COVID-19, according to the UK website.
Beginning Monday, UK said it will offer free coronavirus testing for employees who will be on campus this fall.
Lexington has had 3,857 cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began in March. Of those, 602 were reported during the first week of August.
Fayette County has had 47 deaths.
This story was originally published August 8, 2020 at 1:05 PM.
