Lexington, school system to open 10 test sites for students, staff amid COVID spike
As the Delta variant of COVID-19 continues to increase Fayette County’s new infections, Lexington and school officials on Tuesday announced 10 new COVID-19 testing sites for K-12 students and staff.
The school system also said it is working on a possible plan to help reduce the amount of time students spend out of school because of quarantines.
“In recent weeks, we have been discussing ways that regular COVID-19 testing on our campuses might help us reduce the amount of time students have to miss school because of quarantines,” Fayette County Public Schools said in an email to families Tuesday night. “We are still researching possible strategies and hope that we will be able to implement a system in the near future. However, at this time it would be premature for us to share additional information as no plan has yet been finalized.”
Fayette County Schools Superintendent Dr. Demetrus Liggins said the majority of the cases in the district are not from school contact but from exposure to the virus in the community.
Lexington had 486 new COVID cases from Saturday through Monday, according to the latest counts released Tuesday.
“We are making every effort that we can to make sure our staff and students are safe,” Liggins said during a Tuesday press conference.
In-person schooling remains the district’s top priority, Liggins said.
But more than 600 Fayette County Public School students have been quarantined since Sunday, according to school system data.
To help the school system better track cases, Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton and Wild Health, a testing provider, announced testing for kindergarten through high school students, teachers and staff would start at the following locations, which will operate from 2 to 6 p.m.
Immanuel Baptist Church, 2261 Armstrong Mill Road
Starting: Saturday
Days of operation: Monday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday
Fayette County Public Schools, 100 Midland Avenue
Starting: Thursday
Days of operation: 7 days per week
Lexington Legends Ballpark, 2017 Legends Lane
Starting: Aug. 31
Days of operation: Tuesday, Wednesday
These three new testing sites are walk-in clinics, not drive-through sites, Wild Health officials said Tuesday.
The Wild Health community testing site at 1505 College Way on the University of Kentucky’s campus will remain open for the general public. To schedule a same-day appointment at all Wild Health testing sites, go to lexington.wildhealth.com.
Walgreens, CVS, Kroger clinics and Urgent Care Clinics also offer tests.
Fayette County schools announced later Tuesday that it has partnered with Gravity Diagnostics to offer free drive-through COVID-19 testing for students and employees at six schools and at the old Central Office building starting this week.
Fayette County students, staff and faculty members can go to any of the locations, regardless of which school they attend or are employed at, the district said. No appointment is necessary.
The sites and times offered by Gravity Diagnostics are:
Frederick Douglass High School, 2000 Winchester Road
Hours: 7 to 9 a.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays
Paul Laurence Dunbar High School, 1600 Man o’ War Boulevard
Hours: 7 to 9 a.m. Tuesdays
Bryan Station High School, 201 Eastin Road
Hours: 7 to 9 a.m. Wednesdays
Southern Middle School, 400 Wilson Downing Road
Hours: 7 to 9 a.m. Wednesdays
Lafayette High School, 401 Reed Lane
Hours: 7 to 9 a.m. Thursdays
Rise STEM Academy, 2420 Spurr Road
Hours: 9 to 11 a.m. Fridays
Old Central Office Building, 701 East Main Street
Hours: 9 to 11 a.m. Fridays
Gorton and Kevin Hall, a spokesperson for the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department, said the percentage of patients ages 5-17 who are testing positive for COVID-19 is increasing each month.
Currently, 15 percent of all COVID-19 patients are in that age group, Hall said. That’s a significant increase since June, he said.
University of Kentucky Children’s Hospital has had a total of 27 kids hospitalized during the pandemic from COVID-19. Of those, 17 have been in the last few weeks, officials said Tuesday.
Dr. Daniel Rodrique, an infectious disease specialist with CHI-Saint Joseph Health, said the Delta variant appears to be tougher on kids. But the majority of kids who test positive for the highly contagious disease don’t need hospitalization.
Nevertheless, people need to take the Delta variant seriously.
Rodrique said kids may leave the hospital, but “what happens after they leave is the issue. They can have long-term COVID fatigue that lasts many months.”
This story was originally published August 24, 2021 at 1:47 PM.
CORRECTION: The name of Fayette County Schools Superintendent Demetrus Liggins was misspelled in an earlier version of this story.
