35 percent of Lexington’s COVID-19 cases came in November. The future could get worse
Newly-reported coronavirus statistics confirmed that Lexington shattered its old COVID-19 records in November.
The Lexington-Fayette County Health Department reported 164 new COVID-19 cases, 21 new hospitalizations and one new death Tuesday morning. The new data came from the final day of November. Lexington reported a record 6,070 new cases and 252 new hospitalizations for the month. There were 14 deaths in November, which wasn’t a one-month record for the city.
Lexington is likely to have 20,000-plus cases by the end of 2020, even if new case numbers decline back to levels they were in September and October. Public health officials fear totals will be worse than that.
“We’ve said for weeks that it’s going to get bad,” said Kevin Hall, Lexington health department spokesman. “Well, that time is now – it’s bad.”
The health department expects COVID-19 to continue killing about 1 percent of the people it infects, Hall said. That means deaths would likely increase at a higher volume in the coming months as infections continue to spike.
Lexington’s younger populations had the majority of infections at the end of November, while Lexington’s older populations had the majority of the most severe cases. That trend has persisted for the last several months. About 57 percent of Lexington’s COVID-19 cases were in residents 34 and under. One death occurred in that age range. People 55 and older accounted for about 93 percent of deaths.
Where to get tested in Lexington this week
Lexington testing sites returned to normal hours this week after closing or offering limited availability during Thanksgiving week. This week’s test sites include 12 test providers across more than a dozen locations.
Tests can be done without an appointment at the following sites.
- Southland Christian Church, 2349 Richmond Road. Drive-through only, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Bluegrass Community and Technical College, 400 Loudon Ave. Drive-through only, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Mary Queen of the Holy Rosary School, 605 Hill N Dale Road. Thursday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Appointments can be scheduled for tests at the following sites.
- Keeneland, 4201 Versailles Road. Drive-through only, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Appointments: doineedacovid19test.com.
- University of Kentucky, 1505 College Way. Drive-through only, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Appointments: lexington.wildhealth.com.
- Eastern State Hospital, 1350 Bull Lea Road. Drive-through only, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Appointments: lexington.wildhealth.com.
- Lexington Urgent Care centers, 1701 Nicholasville Road, 3101 Richmond Road, 4097 Nichols Park Drive. Appointments: urgentcareofky.com.
- Walgreens, 2296 Executive Drive. Appointments recommended: walgreens.com/coronavirus.
Lexington residents can also call their local Kroger Little Clinic for testing appointments.
- 1600 Leestown Road - (859) 259-4890
- 3101 Richmond Road - (859) 268-9866
- 4101 Tates Creek Road - (859) 977-2008
- 3175 Beaumont Center Parkway - (859) 219-5152
- 1650 Bryan Station Road - (859) 977-2096
Medix DX Labs also offers testing by appointment at five locations in Lexington: 3191 Beaumont Centre Circle, 3180 Richmond Road, 120 Malabu Drive, 3801 Mall Road (Dick’s Sporting Goods Parking Lot) and 161 Lexington Green Circle (Lexington Green Parking Lot). Appointments can be scheduled at medixdx.com.
CVS offers testing at 118 New Circle Road and 2000 Harrodsburg Road. Appointments can be scheduled on cvs.com.
Redding Drug at 431 Redding Road also offers testing Monday through Saturday. Appointments can be scheduled by calling (859) 475-1973.
This story was originally published December 1, 2020 at 9:40 AM.