LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Lexington has had its highest one-day increase of COVID-19 cases so far this year.
The Lexington-Fayette County Health Department says 62 cases were reported on Monday, bringing the city's total to 1,775 through July 6. 32 people have died from COVID-19 in Lexington. Since the start of July, Lexington has had 222 COVID-19 cases and 3 deaths.
The city’s highest one-day totals to date have been:
- 62 cases, July 6
- 46 cases, July 1
- 41 cases, June 26
- 40 cases, June 24
- 39 cases, June 30
- 39 cases, June 14
The Lexington-Fayette County Health Department spokesman, Kevin Hall, said more access to testing is not to blame for the recent increase.
"As the number of testing sites increases we really didn't see an increase in the number of positive cases," Hall said.
Instead, he said the new record is a result of spread amongst family members (family clusters), community spread, and people who are vacationing.
"We understand," Hall said. "People have COVID-19 fatigue. People want to go on vacation. People want to go to restaurants, and we want you to do those things but we want you to do them responsibly."
The health department says it continues to see many cases throughout the community in family clusters and people returning from vacations to national COVID-19 "hot spots" like Florida and South Carolina.
The CDC recommends the following to slow the spread of COVID-19:
- Wash your hands often
- Avoid close contact with others
- Wear a cloth face covering in public
- Cover coughs and sneezes
- Pick up food at drive-throughs, curbside restaurant service, or stores
"You know these little things [masks] are easy to use, and you know they protect you but they also protect others from when you cough or sneeze and it's just good common sense to take the precautions we need to go tamp down the spread," Mayor Linda Gorton said.
Hall said he understands that there is COVID-19 fatigue, but he said Lexingtonians cannot afford to let their guards down because the pandemic is far from over.
Hall also said the number of deaths is increasing as well. There have been three deaths already in Lexington during the first week of July.
