Lexington reports 275 new COVID-19 cases. City comes close to 1-month case record.
Lexington reported 275 new COVID-19 cases Thursday morning, making it the second consecutive day of more than 250 COVID-19 cases.
The Lexington-Fayette County Health Department reported 288 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday. It’s the first time the city has reported case numbers that high on consecutive days since Dec. 2 and Dec. 3. The rolling seven-day average of new cases among city residents increased to 148.9.
Lexington is now 305 cases away from setting a one-month record for new cases in December. The city’s current record is 6,070 in November. With just one day of cases left to report, Lexington would have to report one of its highest case counts this month in order to set the record. The city has reported 305-plus new cases in a single day five times since the pandemic started.
Lexington has reported 23,169 total infections among residents since the pandemic began.
The city’s jump in cases on Wednesday caused an increase in Fayette County’s incidence rate for the first time in nearly three weeks, according to the state Department for Public Health. The incidence rate jumped from 33.2 to 39.6, and is likely to increase again after another high case count.
The incidence rate is a measure used by the state to determine how severe COVID-19 spread is in each Kentucky county. Incidence rate is calculated by taking the rolling seven-day average of new cases in a given county, dividing it by the county’s total population, and then multiplying it by 100,000 to get the average number of cases per 100,000 residents over the past seven days.
Lexington’s incidence rate has been in the “red zone” every day since Oct. 28, according to the state health department.
Lexington also reported one new COVID-19 death Thursday morning. The city’s death toll is 160, with 24 of those coming in December, according to the Lexington health department.
There were 13 new hospitalizations reported Thursday morning. A total of 1,277 Lexington residents have been hospitalized with COVID-19 at some point since March, according to the health department. There have been 341 new hospitalizations reported in December, which is the most in a single month since the pandemic started.
Cases still increasing at Federal Medical Center
The Lexington Federal Medical Center – a prison facility on Leestown Road – was up to 292 active COVID-19 cases among its inmates as of Wednesday, according to the Bureau of Prisons. The facility also had five positive staff members. In total, FMC inmates have had 572 positive COVID-19 tests, according to the Bureau of Prisons.
There have been 1,119 tests administered. The FMC has 1,119 inmates, according to the Bureau of Prisons. Test numbers can be higher because some inmates may have been tested more than once, and tests are still counted if the inmate was tested somewhere other than the FMC.
The Bureau of Prisons has confirmed six FMC inmate deaths connected to COVID-19 since the pandemic started. The most recent death was in September, according to the Bureau of Prisons.
This story was originally published December 31, 2020 at 10:54 AM.