Updated: Lexington reports 62 new COVID-19 cases, new death in a nursing home

Aug. 12--Lexington reported 62 new COVID-19 cases Wednesday morning, bringing the city's total to 4,106 since March.

There was also one new death and one new hospitalization reported. There have been 48 deaths and 339 hospitalizations thus far, according to data from the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department.

The 62 new cases Wednesday follow Tuesday's 49, which was low compared to the record numbers that had been reported in recent weeks. Lexington has now had fewer than 70 new cases in four consecutive days. The four days prior to that all featured increases over 80. Two of those days had increases over 100.

The death was a resident in their 70s at Morning Pointe of Lexington, Hall said. According to state data, the nursing home has four active cases among residents. Six staff members have tested positive, five of which are still positive. This is the nursing home's first reported COVID-19 death.

Thus far, resident deaths at nursing homes in Fayette County have occurred at Cambridge Place (2), Homestead Post Acute (7), Pine Meadows Post Acute (18) and Morning Pointe (1).

Kevin Hall, spokesman for the health department, said it's too soon to tell if Lexington is regaining control over the pandemic.

There were seven University of Kentucky students among Fayette County's newest cases, Hall said. In total, 144 UK students who are Fayette County residents or who chose to quarantine in Fayette County are included in the county's total.

There were zero Lexington-Fayette County Detention Center inmates who received confirmed positive results since Tuesday's health department report, he said. The jail has turned into a hotspot over the last two weeks. Since identifying its first case on Aug. 3, the jail has had 60 inmates and five staff members test positive for the virus.

The 25-34 age range has the greatest share of Lexington's cases. There have been 830 confirmed cases in that age range. The next-largest number of cases is in the 35-44 age range, which had 643 total cases as of Wednesday morning.

Cases in children have continued to increase. There are now 127 total cases in children under 5 years old, and 250 cases in children aged 5-14.

The COVID-19 spread in Lexington has previously been described as "rapid" by health department officials, and as cases have gone up, so has the demand for testing. The city is opening more testing sites in response.

COVID-19 tests at Tates Creek will be available from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. this Thursday; noon to 8 p.m. Friday; and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, according to a news release from the city. No appointment is needed, and people who want a test should enter the Tates Creek campus from Milano Road.

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