Lexington is ‘likely exiting’ its COVID-19 plateau. City reports 118 new cases
Lexington reported 118 new COVID-19 cases Thursday, which was the third-most in a single day in October.
The city’s rolling seven-day average of new cases has increased to 86.4. It swelled to over 100 in September before falling as low as 70 earlier this month. After hitting a “plateau” earlier in October, the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department said the city is “trending upward at this time,” according to spokesman Kevin Hall.
“We are likely exiting that plateau,” he said.
Fayette County has been bordering on the “red zone,” which is the state’s category for the worst level of virus spread, according to the state Department for Public Health. The categories are based on the state’s infection incidence rate, which tracks new cases each day per 100,000 residents in every county. As of Wednesday night, Fayette County was in the less severe “orange zone,” which represents accelerated spread of the virus.
Fayette County Public Schools on Wednesday scrapped a hybrid in-person learning plan after hearing warnings of a case escalation from public health officials.
There were no new deaths reported Thursday. The Lexington health department removed one death from the city’s count after a death reported earlier this month was determined to be unrelated to the coronavirus, Hall said. The city’s death toll is now 90, according to the health department.
Ten of the 118 new cases announced Thursday were University of Kentucky students, according to the Lexington health department. UK students have accounted for about 23 percent of Lexington’s total cases, but new case counts among the student population have been dwindling.
Including UK students, Lexington college students have accounted for one-quarter of all Lexington cases since the virus arrived in the state in March. Bluegrass Community and Technical College has had 103 cases, Commonwealth Baptist College has had 77 cases, Transylvania University has had 69 cases and Sullivan University has had four cases, according to the health department.
Lexington has had 10,194 cases and 618 hospitalizations.
This story was originally published October 22, 2020 at 10:08 AM.