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Report: Central City in Muhlenberg County had a 650% increase of COVID-19 cases in a week

Posted at 12:53 PM, May 14, 2020
and last updated 2020-05-14 14:14:30-04

(LEX 18) — Kentucky's coronavirus data shows that specific communities across the state are struggling with COVID-19 more than others.

Central City in Muhlenberg County is even getting national attention for its positive cases.

Earlier this week, NBC News got an unreleased White House report that shows the top ten areas in the country that recorded surges of at least 72% over the last week. At the top of that list was Central City, with a 650% increase of coronavirus cases.

However, numbers from the Muhlenberg County Health Department reveal most of those cases are coming from one location - the Green River Correctional Complex.

As of May 13th, Muhlenberg County has had a total of 472 coronavirus cases. 88 of them were from the community. 384 of them were from the prison.

In the prison, 356 of the positive cases are inmates, and 28 are staff members.

The reason for the recorded spike in positive cases is that Kentucky recently tested every person at the prison. That means the results all came back within the same time frame.