Lexington COVID update: More coronavirus patients seek treatment at local hospitals

Lexington has recently reported its highest COVID-19 case counts since February and local hospitals are experiencing the impacts as hospitalizations and emergency room visits increase substantially.

The Lexington-Fayette County Health Department reported 86 new COVID-19 cases Friday, the most in a single day since Feb. 23 when there were 93 reported. There were 210 more new cases from Saturday to Monday, according to health department numbers released Tuesday.

New COVID-19 hospital admissions in Lexington have increased more than 21 percent over the last seven days, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Fayette County’s incidence rate, which is used to measure the spread of COVID-19 in each Kentucky county, was nearly five times higher on Friday than it was just two weeks prior, according to the state Department for Public Health.

The percentage of total beds used and intensive care unit beds used remains low, but hospitals and health officials have previously shown concern that an increase in COVID-19 patients could negatively affect patients suffering from other health conditions.

‘Significant increase’ comes from unvaccinated patients

Baptist Health Lexington had 28 COVID-19 patients Monday, which was a “significant increase from last week and the week before,” said Ruth Ann Childers, a spokesperson for Baptist Health.

“The majority of our patients are unvaccinated, and we would like to continue to encourage people to get vaccinated,” she said.

Childers said there were more COVID-19 patients showing up at the emergency room in recent days, too.

“We’d like to remind people to, as always, access COVID-19 testing sites, telehealth, their primary care physicians offices and urgent treatment centers,” she said. “Emergency rooms are also here to take care of you if needed.”

Coronavirus patients have doubled in number at the University of Kentucky Chandler Hospital in recent weeks. The hospital had an average of seven to 10 COVID patients on any given day in late June, with only one or two of them in the intensive care unit, according to Kristi Willett, a spokesperson for UK HealthCare. But last week, the hospital reported an average 15 to 20 coronavirus patients.

There were 17 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 at UK hospital Monday. Ten of them were in the intensive care unit, Willett said.

Willett said she didn’t have exact data for the number of vaccinated and unvaccinated patients but “in general, the vast majority and the sickest of our patients are the unvaccinated.”

Willett said the UK Hospital emergency department reported a “significant increase” in the number of patients who were suspected to have COVID-19 in the past week.

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Some Baptist and UK patients could be from areas outside Lexington.

Hospitalizations are still more frequent among people who haven’t been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department.

Fayette County’s incidence rate, which is used by the state to determine the severity of COVID-19 spread in every county, is 8.6 times higher than it was about three weeks ago.

“We need the community’s help in slowing COVID-19,” the local health department said in a tweet Monday.

Health officials have asked local residents to avoid close contact with people who are sick (especially those with COVID-19 symptoms); avoid touching their eyes, nose and mouth; wash their hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds; and wear a face covering in crowded public areas.

The health department advises both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals to follow those steps.

Do I have to wear a mask? When it’s required and recommended in KY.