University of Kentucky isn’t the only Lexington college with climbing COVID cases
As COVID-19 infections among Lexington’s college students continue to drive the city’s case count, the local health department has begun to report cases in all of the city’s higher education institutions.
Lexington recorded 79 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday — 40 of which were college students. The city has had 8,093 cases since March, with college students making up 26 percent of the city’s case count with 2,099 total.
At least 1,789 of those student cases have occurred since early August. The Lexington-Fayette County Health Department only includes students who reside in or choose to isolate in the county.
The just over 30,000-student University of Kentucky carries the biggest bulk of the cases with 1,899 since March, according to the health department. UK students have been hospitalized, although it’s unclear how many, department data only shows that it’s less than five.
Commonwealth Baptist College on Versailles Road has the second-most cases with 76, department data shows. It’s unclear how large the school’s enrollment is. Jeffery Fugate is the president of the college. He also pastors Clays Mill Baptist Church in Jessamine County, which health officials labeled as a COVID-19 hot spot in June. Fugate disputed that anyone had contracted the virus at the church.
Bluegrass Community and Technical College had 69 total cases and Transylvania University had 54. Sullivan University had one case.
This story was originally published September 24, 2020 at 10:33 AM.