LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Tuesday marks seven months since Kentucky recorded its first positive case of COVID-19. One day shy of that came the news that the state set a new weekly record for positive cases.
State health officials announced the confirmation of 6,318 cases of coronavirus in the last week, and only two counties, Robertson and Pendleton, are listed as being in the safer "green zone."
"There is no one who is protected from this. There is still a long way to go with COVID-19," said Kevin Hall from the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department.
Hall was able to paint a much better-looking picture for Fayette County, despite the record number we saw across the state.
"We had 150 new cases reported over the weekend. That's 75 on both Saturday and Sunday," he said.
Those numbers leave the county with more than 8,000 cases since March, but the weekend numbers are consistent with a recent downward trend in Fayette County.
"What we've seen over the last week or so is 70 to 80 new cases per day, or even fewer. That is a trend we hope continues," Hall explained, noting that the daily average peaked at more than 100 during the middle of September.
Hall also discussed the White House outbreak, where several prominent government officials, including President Donald Trump, tested positive for the virus.
"This is something that's happening. It is real. It's not overblown. So this does help gets people's attention," Hall said of the president's diagnosis before expressing the department's desire to see the president have a speedy recovery.
"We don't wish this on anyone. It is a terrible illness. Getting people to understand if this can happen to the president, not only of this country but other countries around the globe, it can happen to all us," Hall stressed.
The state's newly minted record should help drive home that argument.
