Lexington’s COVID-19 cases continue to decline. The holidays could change that.
COVID-19 cases continued to decline in Lexington over the past seven days, as the city reported its third consecutive week with a drop in new cases.
Lexington reported 770 total cases from Dec. 21-27, including 191 cases Saturday and 41 cases Sunday. Zero cases were reported on Dec. 25 because the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department was closed for Christmas. The city’s rolling seven-day average of new cases was 110 as of Monday morning, which was one of its lowest points in over a month.
The 41 new cases reported Sunday were the fewest in a single day since Sept. 27. It’s possible that the Christmas holiday could’ve caused unusual numbers, but the health department doesn’t know for sure, health department spokeswoman Christina King said.
The Lexington health department wasn’t ready to consider the decline in cases a “trend” as of Monday.
“We need to wait and see what happens this week after the Christmas and New Years holidays,” King said.
National officials have warned about a post-Christmas spike. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, said on CNN’s “State of the Union” the United States may see a surge of post-holiday cases.
“I wouldn’t say we are ‘worried’,” King said about a potential spike in the coming weeks. “But we want to wait and watch before we call anything a trend.”
Lexington’s incidence rate has dropped to less than half of what it was at its peak earlier this month. Incidence rate is used by the state Department for Public Health to determine COVID-19 spread in each county. Fayette County has been in the “red zone” – indicating critical spread – every day since Oct. 28.
But COVID-19 deaths and hospitalizations haven’t ceased despite lower case numbers. Lexington reported 57 new hospitalizations over the past week, just one week after the city set a new record for local residents newly hospitalized with the virus. Deaths in December have climbed to 22, leaving this month just two deaths behind October for the second-highest number of fatal COVID-19 cases.
Lexington COVID-19 test sites reopen after Christmas break
Most COVID-19 testing sites in Lexington closed late last week for Christmas, but they reopened Monday. Several sites have hours which are affected by New Years. There are three test sites available this week which don’t require any appointment.
- Bluegrass Community and Technical College, 400 Loudon Ave., Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Drive-through only.
- Southland Christian Church, 2349 Richmond Road, Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Drive-through only.
- Tates Creek Golf Course, 1400 Gainesway Drive, Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Drive-through and walk-up options available.
There are also sites available which require an appointment or registration.
Lexington Urgent Care centers, 1701 Nicholasville Road, 3101 Richmond Road, 4097 Nichols Park Drive. Appointments: urgentcareofky.com.
Walgreens, 110 Town Centre Drive, drive-through only. Appointments: walgreens.com/coronavirus.
CVS, 118 New Circle Road and 2000 Harrodsburg Road. Appointments: cvs.com.
Wild Health’s testing operations at Kroger Field and Eastern State Hospital will operate all seven days this week, remaining open through the New Years holiday. The Kroger Field location is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and the Eastern State Hospital location is open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Appointments can be scheduled at Lexington.wildhealth.com.
Medix DX Labs also offers testing by appointment at five locations in Lexington. Appointments can be scheduled at medixdx.com.
- 3191 Beaumont Centre Circle.
- 3180 Richmond Road.
- 120 Malabu Drive.
- 3801 Mall Road (Dick’s Sporting Goods Parking Lot).
- 161 Lexington Green Circle (Lexington Green Parking Lot).
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
Redding Drug at 431 Redding Road also offers testing Monday through Saturday. Appointments can be scheduled by calling (859) 475-1973.