Clinton County had another up and down week in regards to the number of COVID-19 cases, reaching a high at one point of 18 cases that placed the county into the critical level, also referred to as the “red zone.”

By the end of the week ending Tuesday morning, the case numbers here had gone through a gradual reduction in numbers that brought the case count here to 11 cases, 10 of which were self-isolated, with one hospitalization.

The high number of 18 cases in the past week, followed another week in which case numbers spiked here, taking the number of active cases at one point to 25, according to the Lake Cumberland District Health Department’s COVID-19 Public Information Brief on Sunday, September 13.

The case count last week also prompted Clinton County Schools Superintendent Dr. Tim Parson to announce that classes would move to virtual until October 12.

However, on Sunday of this week, Parson backed up on that decision, announcing that he would bring students back into the classroom for in-person instruction on Wednesday of this week, September 23.

A separate article that includes an interview with Parson appears this week in the Clinton County News, beginning on page 1.

By moving into the “red-zone” with numbers that were not feasible to drop enough in time, school athletic officials postponed several Clinton County High School athletic events scheduled for last week, including a girls’ soccer game, the first home football game on Friday night, and the girls’ All ‘A’ Classic Volleyball tournament that was slated to be played here last Saturday.

Those cancellations and postponements followed a recommendation from the LCDHD on Tuesday, September 15.

“According to the new state guidance, when this level of community spread occurs, it is highly recommended that all in-person K-12 instruction cease immediately, along with all extra-curricular school activities, including all sports and sports-related practices,” the LCDHD Information Report noted at that time.

The report also noted that the local school board had the authority to make the final decision regarding those matters.

Clinton County District Athletic Director Brandon Pharis has announced this week that the Monroe County football game that was postponed last Friday night, will be played here on Thursday, October 8, with a 7:00 p.m. kickoff.

He also has said that the All ‘A’ Classic Volleyball Regional Tournament will be played here on Saturday, September 26.

By Tuesday morning, cases in Clinton County had seen a gradual decline over the past several days, eventually falling to the current 11 case rate.

Across the region, LCDHD also is reporting that the total number of cases in the 10 counties involved, have dropped to 219 cases, down from an all-time high number of 411 cases reported earlier this month on September 2, 2020.

In addition to Clinton County’s 11 active cases, other counties in the LCDHD region’s case counts, and the number of hospitalized patients in parentheses, are: Adair 15 (0), Casey 3 (0), Cumberland 9 (0), Green 27 (1), McCreary 14 (1), Pulaski 69 (2), Russell 22 (2), Taylor 32 (2) and Wayne 17 (0).

To date, there have been 2,610 total cases in the 10 county district, with 69 deaths. Clinton County has had two patients die from COVID-19 since the pandemic reached Kentucky in March.