More than 100 new cases Friday help Lexington set 2 monthly records for COVID-19
Lexington reported 112 new COVID-19 cases and one new death Friday morning. The city’s total is now 5,401 with 55 deaths and 410 hospitalizations.
The most recent death was a person in their 90s, according to the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department. Friday was the second time Lexington has reported 100-plus cases on consecutive days. The city had 101 cases on Aug. 13 and 105 on Aug. 14.
The 112 cases reported are the third-most in a single day, trailing only the 131 cases reported from Aug. 7 and the 116 cases reported from July 27.
Lexington has surpassed the one-month city record of 107 hospitalizations from July, according to health department data. The hospitalization total for this month is 113. Nearly two-thirds of all hospitalizations have been residents 55 and older.
The city has already shattered its new case record for a single month. There have already been more than 2,000 cases reported this month. July set a record at 1,702 cases. More than 60 percent of all new cases this month have been in residents 34 and younger.
Deaths are on pace to be lower than the previous two months. Lexington has had nine coronavirus deaths this month, compared to 16 in June and 17 in July.
The infection rate for Lexington residents is much higher for people in their teens to early 30s, but more than 90 percent of the city’s deaths have been residents 55 and older, according to health department data.
“We are continuing to see a rise in cases among University of Kentucky students,” the health department said in a statement Friday.
The city has reported 578 total infections among UK students. The city’s cases only include students who were already Fayette County residents or decided to remain in Fayette County for their quarantine period.
Gov. Andy Beshear has recently shown concern over UK’s numbers and said he would like to hear from UK about how the university will determine when classes need to move to a virtual format. A UK spokesman said university measures indicate it is in good shape.
This story was originally published August 28, 2020 at 9:31 AM.