‘We have mild symptoms.’ Lexington mayor, husband test positive for COVID-19
Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton announced Thursday she has tested positive for COVID-19.
Gorton said she tested positive Thursday morning. Her husband Charlie tested positive Wednesday night.
Both are vaccinated and have received booster shots. Gorton, a registered nurse, also wears masks in public settings.
“We both have mild symptoms,” Gorton said in a written release. Most fully immunized people who get the virus have relatively mild cases, Gorton said and data has shown.
The Gortons will isolate for the next five days as per Centers for Disease Control guidelines. Under those guidelines if the symptoms resolve the Gortons will be allowed to leave isolation but must wear a mask for five additional days when around others to minimize the risk of infecting people they encounter.
COVID-19 cases are surging in Fayette County and in Kentucky, spurred by the highly contagious omicron variant.
The state reported 13,614 new COVID-19 cases Thursday, 20 deaths, and a positivity rate of 31.37%, up from Wednesday’s 30.77%.
That’s the highest positivity rate the state has reported since the pandemic began in March 2020.
Fayette County’s cases have climbed so quickly there is currently a backlog in reporting, officials with the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department have said. The department reported just shy of 1,000 new cases for Wednesday. The seven-day rolling average is 771 cases.
This story was originally published January 20, 2022 at 5:00 PM.
