Updated: Lexington sets 1 month COVID-19 case record. Almost half are UK students
The Lexington-Fayette County Health Department reported 116 new COVID-19 cases and three deaths over the weekend, making September another record-setting month for the city.
The newly-reported cases pushed the city’s September case count to 2,595, the most in a single month thus far. Lexington hasn’t yet had a month with fewer new cases than the previous month. University of Kentucky students accounted for 1,210 — or about 47 percent — of those September cases, according to health department data.
The student cases have occurred long after students returned to campus and off-campus housing. Students have been urged repeatedly to social distance and wear masks. The increase in new UK student cases indicates the infection is spreading among students not taking sufficient precautions.
“We want people to follow the proper guidelines for slowing the spread of COVID-19, no matter their age, location or reason for gathering or going out into the public,” health department spokesman Kevin Hall said Monday. “Wear a mask that covers your mouth and nose, stay at least 6 feet from others who aren’t in your household and wash your hands often.”
But UK said the virus’ spread among students isn’t significantly affecting the Lexington community as a whole. Contact tracing has found that only 5.5 percent of all people exposed to COVID-19 from UK students and employees have been Fayette County residents who don’t work or attend school at UK, Blanton said.
“The university is not contributing in any substantive way to what would be characterized as community spread,” Blanton said.
The university reported 409 active cases among students as of Thursday. UK’s numbers lag health department daily counts. The university reported 36 students in campus isolation as of Thursday and 46 students in Greek life isolation. The rest of the students in isolation were off campus, according to UK.
A handful of UK students have become the first college students in Fayette County to be hospitalized, according to the health department. Less than five have been admitted to a hospital with COVID-19.
UK students in Fayette County have accounted for 2,001 cases since the pandemic started, according to the health department. UK started on Aug. 3 mass testing students returning to campus for the fall, and 1,880 of the 2,001 cases in Fayette County have occurred since Aug. 3.
Despite the increases in infections, UK students were seen at parties Saturday, the Wildcats’ first football game of the season. A UK spokesman said the university was following up on reports of COVID-19 rule violations. Students are subject to student conduct discipline if they don’t follow COVID-19 safety guidelines.
UK hasn’t been the only college in the county with coronavirus cases. There have been 2,214 cases among all college students in Fayette County, according to health department data.
Bluegrass Community and Technical College is tied with Commonwealth Baptist College with 76 cases among students, according to the health department. Transylvania University has had 60 cases and Sullivan University has one case, according to the health department.
Even though the monthly case count was high, the past week has seen lower case numbers. The city had less than 90 new cases each day through the first four days of last week before a sharp increase of 110 cases reported Saturday morning. With 82 cases reported Saturday and just 34 reported Sunday, the city’s total for the week was 517. That’s the fewest in a single week since July 20-26.
There were five deaths in the past week, an increase from the previous week, in which there was just one.
Lexington has had 8,388 total infections, 76 deaths, 526 hospitalizations and 7,291 recoveries since the pandemic started in March, according to the health department.
The health department said Monday that COVID-19 is still spreading “rapidly” in Lexington.
This story was originally published September 28, 2020 at 9:24 AM.