A daily snapshot of COVID-19 cases in Anderson County on Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021, includes, among other information, the daily number of new cases and the daily positivity rate. (Graphic by Tennessee Department of Health)

COVID-19 cases surged up this week in Anderson County and four adjacent counties—Campbell, Knox, Loudon, and Roane—to the highest levels since near the peak of the delta surge in mid-September. The positivity rate was very high, more than 20%, in all five counties.

On Wednesday, Anderson County reported 80 or more cases for the second day in a row, the highest since September 16. The 80 new cases reported Wednesday followed the reporting of 87 new cases on Tuesday, according to Tennessee Department of Health data.


A daily snapshot of COVID-19 cases in Anderson County on Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021, includes, among other information, the daily number of new cases and the daily positivity rate. (Graphic by Tennessee Department of Health)

 

COVID-19 cases surged up this week in Anderson County and four adjacent counties—Campbell, Knox, Loudon, and Roane—to the highest levels since near the peak of the delta surge in mid-September.

On Wednesday, Anderson County reported 80 or more cases for the second day in a row, the highest since September 16. The 80 new cases reported Wednesday followed the reporting of 87 new cases on Tuesday, according to Tennessee Department of Health data.

It’s not clear if the spike in cases in the five counties, including Anderson, was related to the new omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the COVID-19 disease. The Tennessee Department of Health was not available for comment Friday while state offices were closed. However, the omicron variant has caused a quick, steep rise in cases in other countries and in other parts of the United States.

If the surge continues, it would be the fourth in Anderson County since the pandemic began March 20, 2020. The last surge, the delta surge, was the third of the pandemic in the county, and it peaked at 152 new cases on September 10.

The rest of this story is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or contributor to Oak Ridge Today. Already a member? Great! Thank you! Sign in here. Not a member? No problem! Subscribe here: Basic

Pro

Temporary

If you prefer to send a check, you may do so by mailing one to: Oak Ridge Today P.O. Box 6064 Oak Ridge, TN 37831 We also have advanced subscription options. You can see them here. We also accept donations. You can donate here. A donation of $50 or more will make you eligible for a subscription. Thank you for reading Oak Ridge Today. We appreciate your support!

Roane reports 67 new cases of COVID in one day, positivity rate near 20 percent

A daily snapshot of COVID-19 cases in Roane County on Thursday, Nov. 5, 2020, includes, among other information, the daily number of new cases and the daily positivity rate. (Graphic by Tennessee Department of Health)

Roane County reported a record-high new 67 COVID-19 cases on Monday, and the test positivity rate in the county is very high, close to 20 percent, according to data published by the Tennessee Department of Health.

In a Facebook update, Roane County Executive Ron Woody reported an even higher number of new cases on Monday, 72. Woody said about half of those cases might be linked to one group of people.

The previous record of new daily cases in Roane County was 41 on Wednesday, October 28. (The high in Anderson County, also reported last week, is 46.)

The 14-day case average through Thursday was 26.2 new cases per day. That’s up from 15.3 in the previous two-week period in Roane County and higher than the current two-week average of 24.9 new cases per day in Anderson County.

On Thursday, the state health department said the seven-day average of the positivity rate in Roane County was 19.4 percent. That’s very high. The World Health Organization has recommended that the positivity rate be at 5 percent or lower for 14 days before activities re-open. The daily positivity rate measures the percentage of positive COVID-19 tests out of the new daily tests.

[Read more…]

Schools, govt. offices, businesses, DOE offices, Y-12 closed Thursday

Snowman at Blankenship Field

Children build a snowman at Blankenship Field on Thursday morning. From left are Killian Fillmore, Andrew Bivens, Gavin Hensley, and Liam Hensley.

Note: This story was last updated at 10:29 a.m.

Oak Ridge Schools are closed Thursday, and so is the Y-12 National Security Complex.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office is also closed as are the Oak Ridge Environmental Management Site Office, Nuclear Energy Site Office, Oak Ridge National Laboratory Site Office, Office of Scientific and Technical Information, and Oak Ridge DOE Inspector General offices. Decisions about reporting instructions for Friday will be made later Thursday or early Friday morning. Employees should check the weather hotline and Facebook later for updates for Friday.

Schools in Clinton and Anderson, Knox, Loudon, Morgan, and Roane counties are also closed. So are Anderson County government offices and courts. And so are many businesses.

City of Oak Ridge offices will open at noon Thursday.

Waste Connections, Inc. will not be picking up refuse or recyclables on Thursday because of the weather conditions.  Thursday’s routes will be picked up on Friday, Feb. 14, and Fridays on Saturday, Feb. 15.  Please have all refuse and recyclables out by 7 a.m. For additional information you can contact Waste Connections Inc. at (865) 482-3656 or visit www.WasteConnectionsTn.com. [Read more…]

Greenback man dies after hunting accident with crossbow

A Greenback man died early Thursday morning after he was accidentally shot in the head by a crossbow during a deer hunting trip in Loudon County on Wednesday, authorities said.

William Nathan Norris, 37, from Greenback at the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency said.

Norris and an unnamed partner were deer hunting on private property off South Highway 411 in Greenback when the incident occurred, the TWRA said. Greenback is south of Lenoir City. [Read more…]

Learn more about Roane State’s AMTEC job training this week

Anyone interested in Roane State Community College’s nationally recognized Advanced Materials Training and Education Center—a no-cost, high-tech job training program for those who are unemployed or underemployed—is invited to meetings this week at the college’s Oak Ridge campus and Loudon County campus.

The meeting at the Oak Ridge campus will be held Tuesday, Sept. 17, at 6 p.m. in the back room inside Anderson’s Grille. The meeting at the Loudon County Campus will be held Thursday, Sept. 19, at 6 p.m. in Room 209. [Read more…]

Roane State hosts information meetings for new mechatronics program

Factory Manufacturing

Technicians trained in mechatronics work with high-tech robotic equipment. (Photo courtesy of Anne Arundel Community College)

Roane State Community College is hosting information meetings about a new certificate program that will train students to become technicians who operate, maintain, and repair high-tech automated manufacturing systems.

Anyone interested in the one-year mechatronics program is invited to attend information meetings on Thursday, Jan. 3, at the college’s Oak Ridge campus; Tuesday, Jan. 8, at the college’s Loudon County campus in Lenoir City; or on Thursday, Jan. 10, at the Clinton Higher Education and Workforce Training Facility.

The information sessions will be held at 10 a.m., 2 p.m., and 6 p.m. each day. Interested students only need to attend one of the sessions.

The program begins Tuesday, Jan. 22, at the Clinton Higher Education and Workforce Training Facility.

[Read more…]

PlanET has greenway meeting in Oak Ridge tonight

A five-county regional planning organization will have a public meeting on greenways at the Oak Ridge Civic Center tonight.

It’s one of four regional meetings and part of an effort to expand and connect greenway systems in Anderson, Blount, Loudon, and Union counties, a press release said.

[Read more…]