LEXINGTON, Ky. — Fayette County Public Schools (FCPS) is seeing an upward trend in COVID-19 cases and quarantines.

What You Need To Know

  • Fayette County Public Schools is seeing a small increase in COVID-19 cases

  • The 7-day average is 37 positive cases among almost 500 students

  • They believe some of the increase may have come from students traveling for sports and Spring Break

  • There are 19 school days remaining

The 7-day average for the district remains at 37 positive cases and almost 500 students or staff in quarantine.

“So one of the things that we have done as part of our return to school, is we've put in some very specific protocols about positive cases and quarantining,” said Lisa Deffendall, spokesperson with FCPS. “The quarantines have really helped us to keep any type of transmission down.” 

In March, the school district welcomed students back into the classroom in phases, using a COVID-19 Matrix as a guide for the return. January, the school district remained in the purple stage, the highest which calls for remote learning.

“Please remember, we started in January, with an average of 264 cases,” Deffendall said.

Now they are in Stage 3, Orange status, which is moderate, but increasing risk.

“The week after spring break when we returned, we had 28 positive cases, but because the students hadn't been together, we didn't have as many quarantines because they tested positive over spring break, and there were fewer students that we placed in quarantine,” Deffendall said.

She said the first week coming back from spring break put 144 students or staff in quarantines.

“This week we have seen a slight uptick in our positive cases we have 42 positive cases, and that has resulted in 488 quarantines,” Deffendall said.

On Thursday, the case count went down to 37.

While the quarantine number may seem high, acting Superintendent Marlene Helm told parents in a letter they are working with the Lexington Fayette County Health Department to follow strict and safe guidelines.

She wrote, in part, “I remain encouraged that by strictly adhering to health guidelines we will avoid a spike and be able to finish the school year in person and celebrate graduations in Rupp Arena as we have planned.”

Deffendall also explained a recent scenario they’ve come across.

“We have seen some exposure from students who participate in travel teams where they're traveling out of state with other students from other schools and we have seen some transmission there. But we've been very fortunate to have very few transmissions among our, our students and staff,” Deffendall said.

The school district is working to reduce risk with the school year coming to a close in 19 days.

The district’s COVID-19 core team meets weekly with the health department to assess case count and quarantines.

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