7 students, 1 staff member positive for COVID-19 at Lexington Catholic, health department says

There have been seven student coronavirus cases and one staff case among county residents at Lexington Catholic High School, Lexington-Fayette County Health Department spokesman Kevin Hall said.

As a result of the cases, Lexington Catholic switched to virtual learning Monday morning after opening last week-to-face to face instruction as did other Catholic schools in the state despite a recommendation from Gov. Andy Beshear to delay until Sept. 28.

Hall said one student case has also been reported at Lexington Christian Academy, which opened last week to in-person learning. LCA is proceeding with that decision but temporarily suspended athletic practices Monday as has Fayette County Public Schools and Lexington Catholic. LCA officials did not immediately comment Monday.

Hall said Sayre had three student cases as of Monday afternoon.

Beshear said at his news conference Monday that four schools and one public school district in Kentucky had to stop in-person learning after reopening schools. That, he said, should be a warning sign to every other school.

“It’s not safe,” he said.

Hall said the numbers the health department provided aren’t necessarily the totals for the schools –-they’re only the Fayette County residents.

“We don’t have any details on any positive cases for students from other counties,” Hall said.

“We are glad to work with each school individually to help them determine their course of action,” Hall said.

Hall said that no other school in Fayette that had opened to in-person learning had positive cases as of Monday.

Barb Milosch, a spokeswoman at Sayre, said Monday that two cases were discovered before the first day of school.

Milosch said those students haven’t been on campus since school started.

She said students were strongly urged to be tested before school started and testing was mandatory for staff.

Sayre is moving ahead with in-person learning and athletic practices, Milosch said Monday.

The River City News reported Monday that a Holy Cross High School student tested positive for COVID-19 in what the Diocese of Covington called “an isolated case.”

The school will be closed on Monday and will have a non-traditional instruction day on Tuesday, the River City News reported.

Beshear said Monday that there were at least 50 COVID-19 cases in Kentucky public schools.

He said 31 Kentucky public school districts have had at least one positive case.

Schools across the state have been trying to decide whether to go along with a Kentucky High School Athletic Association decision to proceed with fall sports. Rallies in support of proceeding with fall sports were planned in Frankfort and Lexington Monday.

Beshear said Monday that he would not take any action on the KHSAA decision, but he didn’t agree with the decision for Kentucky schools to return to fall sports.

This story was originally published August 24, 2020 at 11:15 AM.