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Jessamine saw its third consecutive record-breaking week of new COVID-19 cases last week.

During the week ending Nov. 22, there were 212 new cases of the potentially deadly virus in Jessamine County. The week of Nov. 15, there were 180, and the week of Nov. 8, there were 145 cases. The first three weeks of November marked the three largest reporting weeks in the community.

As of Friday’s COVID-19 report from the Jessamine County Health Department, there had been 1,722 positive cases reported since March in the community.

Of those, 376 were active and 1,317 had recovered.

There were 16 local patients hospitalized with complications of the virus as of Tuesday.

There have been 29 COVID-related deaths reported locally.

From Monday to Friday, there were 137 new cases of the virus.

The Jessamine County Health Department has administered more than 6,500 drive-through COVID-19 tests with an overall positivity rate of 4.2 percent. The positivity rate last week was more than 9 percent, and already this week, the rate has topped 11 percent.

Of those testing positive, 59 percent were asymptomatic.

To schedule a COVID test at JCHD, call 859-885-4149.

As of Tuesday’s statewide COVID-19 incidence rate map, Jessamine was listed in the red zone, which is for communities with an incidence rate of 25 or higher, marking critical spread.

Jessamine’s incidence rate was listed at 52.8. The statewide incidence rate is 63.7.

Like Jessamine County, the state saw another record-breaking week of COVID cases last week.

Last week, Beshear reported 3,766 new cases of the virus along with a number of mandates he hopes will curb the spread of the virus, including things like closing indoor dining, limited social gatherings to two families and eight people or less and prohibiting in-person instruction at public and private schools.

He warned Sunday that ignoring these steps might overload hospitals post-Thanksgiving.

“This … holiday week is a special time for all of our families, and I know everyone wants to have a normal Thanksgiving after such a difficult year,” said Gov. Beshear. “I wish more than anything that we could go back to normal safely, but we can’t. In order to protect our only line of health care workers and all of our fellow Kentuckians, keep gatherings small (eight people or fewer and two households at most), wear a mask, wash your hands and stay six feet apart.

“If we have a major surge of COVID-19 cases after Thanksgiving, our hospitals will simply not have the capacity to give everyone the care they need. Nothing is worth that risk.”

As of Tuesday afternoon, which is The Journal’s press deadline, there had been 160,232 positive cases of the virus in the state leading to 1,792 deaths.

More than 2.6 million tests have been administered in the state with a positivity rate of 8.97 percent.

At least 26,611 people Kentuckians have recovered from the virus.

For more on COVID in Kentucky, visit kycovid19.ky.gov.