‘Definitely concerning.’ Lexington nears 100 new COVID-19 hospitalizations in a week
Lexington reported 378 new COVID-19 cases, three new deaths and 21 new hospitalizations over the weekend. There were 198 new cases reported Saturday and 180 reported Sunday.
Saturday and Sunday marked the first time since Nov. 17 and 18 that Lexington reported fewer than 200 cases on consecutive days.
The city had 1,771 new cases, five new deaths and 94 new hospitalizations over the past seven days. The rolling seven-day average for new cases was 253 as of Monday morning. The 94 new hospitalizations were a one-week record. Kevin Hall, the spokesman for the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department, said the hospitalizations were “definitely concerning.
“Even on a morning like today when the positive cases reported is ‘down,’ ... there’s troubling information when you look at the hospitalizations,” he said.
Lexington has seen increased coronavirus hospitalizations among residents for six straight weeks now. COVID-19 patients at University of Kentucky Chandler Hospital have remained relatively steady for the past week or two, according to a UK HealthCare spokesperson. The hospital had 85 COVID-19 patients Monday, 20 of whom were in the intensive care unit.
The hospital closed five operating rooms in late November to free up more resources for COVID-19 patients when hospitalizations were surging across the state. There were 81 COVID-19 patients at that time. With surge preparations in place, UK Hospital can expand to as many as 320 ICU beds if needed, spokeswoman Kristi Willett said.
The Lexington health department added 17 deaths to its total over the past week, but 12 of them occurred in October and November. Confirming the fatalities as COVID related took some time.
Lexington has now reported 19,010 COVID-19 cases, 1,009 hospitalizations and 132 deaths since COVID-19 first reached Kentucky in March.
2 Lexington COVID-19 test sites expand their hours
The local testing sites operated by Wild Health have expanded their hours this week to allow for more testing. The Kroger Field and Eastern State Hospital locations are now offering tests from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. seven days a week. The sites are drive-through only, and appointments are required. They can be scheduled at lexington.wildhealth.com. The sites were previously open until 4 p.m.
Dr. Luke Murray, the director of COVID-19 testing for Wild Health, previously said the sites were seeing higher demand for testing later in the day as people got off work.
There are various other test sites available in Lexington this week as well. Three don’t require appointments.
- 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.
- Consolidated Baptist Church, 1625 Russel Cave Road, drive-through or walk-up, Thursday through Saturday from 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.
- 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.
Lexington testing employees try to stay warm
Freezing temperatures and snow have brought on a new challenge for coronavirus testing, as the city and test providers have tried to keep their workers warm. Tents and space heaters have been the solution thus far.
“We have two tents up, one inside the other plus two heaters inside the tent,” said Pat Dugger, director of Lexington Emergency Management. “We also encourage folks to dress in layers and allow folks to go to their cars for breaks to warm up. We also have an onsite/online process that makes things go quicker and helps keep workers out of the cold.”
When asked if Lexington would take further steps to keep workers warm, Dugger said the city was “always looking for ways to improve.”
This story was originally published December 7, 2020 at 9:34 AM.