Olivia Russell
Reporter/Weekend Anchor
Lexington, Ky.
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Olivia Russell is a reporter and weekend anchor for WKYT.
Olivia is originally from Louisville, Ky. She graduated from Bellarmine University in 2017 with a degree in Communication. During her four years at Bellarmine, she was a member of the women's softball team and was named academic all-conference.
After college, she went to Monroe, La. to work for KNOE 8 News.
Olivia made her way back to the Bluegrass State in April 2019 when she joined the WKYT team as a reporter. She was named a weekend anchor a few months later.
When she's not reporting, Olivia enjoys hanging out with her cat, Monreaux, and watching sports.
In Anderson County, the health department only has six full-time employees. The public health director says they can handle about 300 doses a week. With a two-dose vaccine, the workload doubles.
Around 2,200 boxes of food traveled from Fort Worth, Texas to Kentucky, thanks to a special connection with Georgetown College.
Governor Beshear says, starting March 1, the state will begin vaccinating people in Phase 1C. That includes people sixty and older, anyone 16 or older with high-risk health conditions and essential workers.
Cold temperatures and road salt can be hazardous for cars.
Jackson county was one of the hardest hit areas. At one point, three-quarters of the county lost power.
The city of Lexington and the University of Kentucky are teaming up to go directly into areas to target minority groups.
Kentucky faces freezing temperatures every year. With those freezing temperatures comes frozen pipes, and the same advice is repeated every winter.
Driving into Jackson County it seemed like road conditions were significantly worse the second our crew crossed the county line.
“We see significant risks of slips and falls. The problem with slips and falls is of course the potential for fractures, especially of the hips, backs, arms, head injuries,” Dr. Ryan Stanton explained.
“I just happened to look out the window and I could see sparks of the electrical lines behind my house.”
The pandemic has changed operations at long-term care facilities, now, another major challenge is here - winter weather.
Group 1B is currently eligible for vaccinations. That includes first responders, K through 12 employees, and people 70 or older.
Area health departments say getting the supply of vaccines has been difficult. Now, the state is stepping up to help.
A UK spokesperson gave an update on how the UK Healthcare vaccination clinic at Kroger Field is going.
Although House Bill 1 will not go into effect right now, some businesses say the legislation is confusing. One Lexington business owner says when it’s time, he wants to do things the right way.
“Seeing COVID has been bad news after bad news,” he said.
It’s one of the largest fires in Lexington history. Nobody was hurt, but the fire destroyed seven acres of the stockyard and some nearby businesses.
An eastern Kentucky family is displaced, with nothing, after a fire burned down their home. Now, an organization is stepping up to help them out as they find a new place to live.
Tow truck driver Michael Blackburn says most crashes happen as the winter weather first starts and roads aren’t treated yet, but he still expects quite a few calls Thursday.
Doctors in some area hospitals are using monoclonal antibody treatment. The goal is to reduce the risk of hospitalization by about two-thirds.
“We’re going to start to see the numbers trend down slowly and then start to drop off significantly once we have more vaccines and vaccinated people,” Dr. Ryan Stanton predicted.
The University of Kentucky has already administered more than 20,000 vaccines in the past month. Just this week, several thousand people were vaccinated at the Kroger Field clinic.
Lexington’s Mobile Neighborhood Testing Program resumed Thursday. This week, it’s back at Red Mile through Saturday.
A Lexington man went viral on Facebook this summer for organizing the Big Tip Challenge. Jonathan Alexander collected and tipped servers a total of more than $2,000. Now, he's in the hospital fighting COVID-19.
The clinic will follow Kentucky’s guidance for distribution. Groups 1A and 1B are eligible to sign up. First responders, K- 12 employees, and people 70 or older will be able to schedule appointments.
The VA said it hoped to improve the wait time moving forward.
The University of Kentucky is also joining the effort with a vaccination clinic in the blue lot of Kroger Field. It will be focused on groups 1A and 1B, which is for healthcare workers and people 70 or older.
The rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine has been going slower than health leaders in Kentucky expected.
Counties in the Lake Cumberland district are still administering vaccines to group 1A (healthcare workers and long-term care facilities). Some counties have been able to vaccinate people in 1B (70 and older). The health department says that's only so doses aren't wasted.
The CDC listed Kentucky as “very high” for flu activity in the first week of January 2020. Exactly one year later, the commonwealth is “minimal.”
“One of the greatest hosts of any game show, let alone any show of all time,” Atwell said. “And it will be a tremendous loss.”
Newly elected commissioner Krystin Arnold attended a pro-Trump rally but says she had nothing to do with the violence at the U.S. Capitol.
Pulaski County had the third highest percentage increase. The 2,063 new COVID-19 cases in December gave it a 123% increase throughout the month.
The testing site in the Blue Lot of Kroger Field is seeing about 2,000 appointments a day.
As we head into 2021, bars and breweries are trying to make the best of a not-so-great year.
Experts say the vaccine does not make you immediately immune to the coronavirus.
“We expect to see significant spikes after Christmas and after New Year’s Eve,”
The CARES Act included an additional $300 per week on top of state unemployment benefits. The federal aid expired on December 26. But that extra cash means nothing for people who aren’t receiving a paycheck in the first place.
Pandemic or not, one thing that will never change about the holidays is the last-minute shopping.
More healthcare workers are getting the COVID vaccine through the Lexington Fayette-County Health Department’s clinic.
Officials at Kroger Field say they’ve seen about a 50 percent increase in people getting tested for COVID-19 before the holiday.
If you have information about Carter’s shooting, you can contact the Lexington Police Department.
The medical staff at Saint Claire Healthcare in Morehead is not only encouraged to be vaccinated against COVID-19, it will be required.
The Kentucky Supreme Court has affirmed the convictions against a man in a deadly stabbing attack in Versailles.
While the CDC’s COVID-19 recommendations have changed throughout the year, UK researchers learned this semester that a two-week quarantine might not be necessary.
The Heritage Nursing and Rehabilitation Facility in Corbin went nine months without a single resident testing positive for COVID-19. Now, there are several cases in the facility, and they’re trying to stop the spread.
Lexington’s Dr. Ryan Stanton says there are several possible solutions with 13 vaccine candidates in phase 3 clinical trials
Young shoppers got about $150 in gift cards to buy whatever they wanted.
Dozens of volunteers are out again Friday searching CCC Trail for any signs of Jill Clayton. It’s a very rural area. The sheriff says that’s what’s making the search so difficult.
Questions and concerns are still in the air about a vaccine which was developed and tested in less than a year. Lexington’s Dr. Ryan Stanton says even though the coronavirus is new, the Pfizer vaccine isn’t.