Note: This story was updated at 11:20 a.m.
The number of COVID-19 cases passed 30,000 in Tennessee on Sunday. The number of deaths is approaching 500, and the number of active cases in the state is over 10,000.
There are now 65 total cases (confirmed and probable) and 20 active cases in Anderson County. Those are both significant increases.
Across the state, there were 31,612 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 472 confirmed deaths on Tuesday, according to the Tennessee Department of Health. There were another 218 probable cases and another 21 probable deaths.
The number of cases in Anderson County appears to be generally increasing more rapidly. Through Friday, June 5, the Anderson County cases had been slowly climbing a case or two at time, and some days there were no new cases. But that seems to have changed around June 6. The case count climbed from 42 on Friday, June 5, to 50 on Tuesday, June 9. It rose to 60 on Monday, June 15, and it was 65 on Tuesday, June 16, the Tennessee Department of Health said.
The number of active cases in the county has been increasing as well. It had been in the range of five to eight active cases. It increased to 11 on Tuesday, June 9. On Tuesday, June 16, there were 20 active cases in Anderson County, according to health department data (65 total cases and 45 recovered).
There have been two deaths in Anderson County due to COVID-19.
Some of the highest new case totals in Tennessee have been reported in the past four days. On Sunday, June 14, there were 885 new COVID-19 cases reported. That was the second-highest new case total reported in the state.
There were 726 new cases reported on Monday, June 15, the fifth-highest new case total.
There were 661 new cases reported on Tuesday, June 16.
It’s not clear if any of the increases are related to new testing at certain types of facilities, the state’s re-opening starting at the end of April and continuing into May, the Memorial Day weekend, or the Black Lives Matter protests across the state. Mask use and social distancing (maintaining a physical separation of six feet or more) has varied significantly.
In the week before the state started re-opening in late April, the new daily case count had been in the range of 156 to 480. This past week, it’s ranged from 298 to 885.
The number of active cases in Tennessee has been increasing. Comparing confirmed cases to recoveries, it passed 10,000 on Sunday.
On Tuesday, the state reported 20,710 recoveries (about 65 percent of cases) and 2,146 total hospitalizations due to COVID-19.
The hospitalization rate has declined slightly to 7 percent, compared to earlier reports on Oak Ridge Today, when it was at 9 percent and then 8 percent.
The death rate remains at about 2 percent, according to the state health department.
On Tuesday, the state reported that 155 of the deaths from COVID-19 in Tennessee have occurred in Shelby County, which includes Memphis in West Tennessee.
There have been 90 deaths in Davidson County, which includes Nashville in Middle Tennessee. There have been 48 deaths in Sumner County northeast of Nashville, 31 deaths in Rutherford County southeast of Nashville, 14 deaths in Wilson County east of Nashville, and 12 deaths in Williamson County south of Nashville.
COVID-19 is a new, contagious respiratory illness that can be deadly and can cause a range of health issues, including fevers, body aches, fatigue, coughing, and breathing problems, among other reported symptoms. Patients who are 61 years old and older appear to be especially vulnerable, according to data from the Tennessee Department of Health.
In Tennessee, the number of deaths starts rising in the 41-50 age group (24 deaths, or 5 percent of them as of Tuesday). It continues to climb in older age groups. Here are the number of deaths in certain age groups as of Tuesday:
- 45 deaths (9 percent of the total) in the 51-60 age group,
- 96 deaths (19 percent) in the 61-70 age group,
- 149 deaths (30 percent) in the 71-80 age group, and
- 163 deaths (33 percent) in the 81-and-older age group.
The disease has affected more males and been deadlier for them. As of Tuesday, 17,049 cases (54 percent) were among males, and 269 deaths (54 percent) were among males.
The largest percentage of COVID-19 cases continues to be among patients who are 21 to 30 years old. That age group accounted for 6,779 cases, or 21 percent of patients as of Tuesday. There were three deaths in that age group.
Another age group, 31-40, was also at about 21 percent with 6,646 cases. There were 11 deaths in that age group.
There were 5,420 cases (17 percent) in the 41-50 age group, and 4,317 cases (14 percent) in the 51-60 age group.
The highest case totals continue to be around Memphis and Nashville. Shelby County (the Memphis area) reported 7,104 cases (confirmed and probable) and Davidson County (the Nashville area) reported 7,016 cases.
Seven Nashville-area counties had 12,023 total cases on Tuesday, or more than one-third of the state’s total cases: Cheatham (158), Davidson (7,016), Robertson (657), Rutherford (1,820), Sumner (1,112), Williamson (723), and Wilson (537). Some of those totals are approaching a doubling since late May.
In East Tennessee, there have been 21 deaths in Hamilton County, which has had 1,836 cases and includes Chattanooga in southeast Tennessee. That’s about triple the case total since late May.
There have been five deaths in Knox County, which includes Knoxville. Knox County has had 569 cases, with 386 of those recovered on Tuesday.
Besides Knox County, here were the case totals in other counties surrounding Anderson County on Tuesday: Campbell (25, with one death and 20 recoveries), Loudon (210, with one death and 179 recoveries), Morgan (21, with one death and 18 recoveries), Roane (32, with no deaths and 29 recoveries), Scott (14, with no deaths and 14 recoveries), and Union (9, with no deaths and five recoveries).
The doubling time in the number of cases and deaths is roughly about a month and a week. That’s a longer doubling time than what was reported when the state passed 20,000 cases in late May.
The seven-day average of the percentage increase in new cases in Tennessee ranged between 1.67 percent and 2.09 percent in the 10-day period between June 6 and June 16.
There have been 638,772 COVID-19 tests in Tennessee at the state public health laboratory and at other labs. That was approaching a doubling of total tests since late May.
The population of Tennessee was estimated at about 6.8 million in July 2019, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
The population of Anderson County was estimated at about 76,978 in July 2019.
See the Tennessee Department of Health website here.
See previous story here.
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