COVID-19 surges in Lexington as city reports 206 new cases. 547 in the last week
Lexington reported 206 new COVID-19 cases, including 106 new infections in University of Kentucky students, and one new death Monday.
The total number of cases since the coronavirus arrived in Lexington in March grew to 5,726 with 56 deaths.
The most recent death was a person in their 80s who was a resident at Liberty Ridge Senior Living. It’s the first death at the assisted living facility, according to data from the Kentucky Department of Public Health. Prior to Monday, the facility had six total cases among residents and one among staff members.
Lexington has reported 539 cases over the last five days. On Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday of last week, the city had 100 or more cases on four consecutive days. Before the surge, Lexington went 11 days without a report of 100-plus cases.
Cases among UK students have continued to increase. There were 106 reported by the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department Monday, bringing the total to 760.
More than 630 of those cases have come since Aug. 3, which is when UK started testing all of its students returning to campus for the fall semester.
The local health department only counts students who quarantine in Fayette County. A total number of cases among UK students, including those isolating outside of Fayette, has not been revealed. UK last reported it had 256 positive cases in students as of Aug. 22.
Lexington reported almost 10 percent of its total cases in the last five days, according to health department data. The city reported 659 cases over the past week, which is the most for a single week (counted Monday through Sunday). Three of the city’s top five single-day case increases came in the past week.
The city also hit a new high in reported hospitalizations, recording 40 from Aug. 24-30. There were three deaths in the last week, up from two the previous week.
The majority of deaths have occurred in residents 75 and older, and more than 90 percent of deaths have occurred in residents 55 and older, according to health department data. But that age group makes up 20 percent of the city’s total cases.
Over one-quarter of all deaths have been Black Lexington residents despite the fact that only about 14 percent of Lexington residents are Black. The city’s minority populations are getting infected and dying at disproportionate rates.
Lexington’s Hispanic population has accounted for more than a quarter of all cases and about 13 percent of all deaths. Only about 7 percent of Lexington residents are Hispanic.
This story was originally published August 31, 2020 at 9:26 AM.