Lexington reports a new daily record for COVID-19 cases. Total includes delayed cases
The Lexington-Fayette County Health Department reported 149 new COVID-19 cases Friday morning, a new one-day record for the city.
The city’s total since March has increased to 6,833. There have been 66 COVID-19 deaths (no new deaths Friday), 466 hospitalizations and 5,631 recoveries, according to the health department. Friday’s case total “includes some delayed reports,” health department spokesman Kevin Hall said.
Case increases had dropped for a few consecutive days before the largest jump in over a month was reported on Thursday. The 123 new cases Thursday also included some delayed reports, according to the health department, but it was still the second-largest one-day increase in cases.
The top five one-day increases for Lexington have all come since Aug. 7. Four of them have come in the first 10 days of September.
COVID-19 is primarily spreading among younger age groups. Thus far, Lexington’s population aged 20-24 has 1,344 cases, about 20 percent of all Lexington’s cases. The 25-34 age group has 1,107 cases, and the 15-19 age group has 949 cases.
Recent case increases have largely been driven by positive results from University of Kentucky students. Since early August, more than 1,100 of Fayette County’s cases — including 51 new cases reported Friday — have been UK students.
The university reported that 432 cases were active as of Monday. It also reported 82 students who were in on-campus or fraternity and sorority isolation. The university’s on-campus isolation capacity is 169, and 57 students were in on-campus isolation as of Monday.
Although the virus is spreading among the city’s younger age groups, deaths occur in Lexington’s older populations. Almost two-thirds of all fatal COVID-19 cases have been in residents 75 or older. More than 90 percent have been in residents 55 or older.
Racial and ethnic minorities have had a disproportionate amount of cases and deaths compared to their white, non-Hispanic counterparts. Lexington’s Black population has accounted for 27 percent of all COVID-19 deaths despite making up just about 14 percent of the city’s population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
The Hispanic community has accounted for 23 percent of all cases despite making up just about 7 percent of the city’s population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
This story was originally published September 11, 2020 at 9:04 AM.