LFCHD says at least 760 UK students have tested positive for COVID

LFCHD says at least 760 UK students have tested positive for COVID
Published: Aug. 31, 2020 at 9:25 AM EDT
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LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - The Lexington-Fayette County Health Department is reporting 206 new COVID-19 cases from over the weekend.

One new death was also reported. The city’s death toll from the virus is now 56.

The new cases from the weekend bring the county’s total to 5,726. The report for Saturday was the second-highest one-day increase in cases. That came after Friday’s report was the third-highest.

The city’s highest one-day totals to date have been:

  • 131 cases, Aug. 7
  • 119 cases, Aug. 28
  • 118 cases, Aug. 29
  • 116 cases, July 27
  • 112 cases, Aug. 27
  • 105 cases, Aug. 4, Aug. 14
  • 102 cases, Aug. 26
  • 101 cases, Aug. 13
  • 100 cases, July 23
  • 91 cases, July 31

The health department says they are also continuing to see a rise in cases among University of Kentucky students, with 760 total cases. This includes testing from multiple sources and not just the specialized on-campus testing done by the university.

Lexington had 206 new COVID-19 cases reported over the weekend (118 on Saturday, 88 on Sunday), bringing the total to...

Posted by Lexington-Fayette County Health Department on Monday, August 31, 2020

The health department says their numbers are for UK students who are Fayette County residents and is not a total of all cases at the university. A student who tests positive is considered a Fayette County resident if they live in Fayette County already or elect to stay in Lexington during their isolation. If they commute to campus from another county or elect to return to their home town for isolation, they are not in the LFCHD numbers.

That means UK’s numbers could be higher than what the health department is reporting.

Health department officials say you can slow the spread by wearing your mask, washing your hands, and avoiding close contact with anyone not in your household.

The current official state totals are 48,032 cases and 930 deaths.

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