AC reports 37 new COVID cases in 3 days as active cases double

Note: This story was last updated at 5:30 p.m.

Anderson County reported 37 new COVID-19 cases in the past three days as the number of active cases more than doubled.

The largest increase in the past three days was on Saturday, when 18 new cases of COVID-19 were reported in Anderson County. That was the largest one-day increase in the county, a 15.5 percent daily jump.

There were 11 new cases reported on Friday and eight new cases reported on Sunday.

The number of active cases in the county more than doubled from 32 on Thursday to 66 on Sunday. (Active cases are calculated by subtracting recoveries and deaths from total cases.)

Anderson County now has 142 total cases, with two deaths and 74 recoveries, according to the Tennessee Department of Health.

The daily positivity rate in Anderson County exceeded 10 percent on Saturday, when it hit 11.3 percent. That was far above its recent range of 0.8 percent to 4.8 percent. The positivity rate is calculated by dividing new cases by new tests.

After hitting 11.3 percent on Saturday, the daily positivity rate for Anderson County dropped back down to 1.1 percent on Sunday.

The overall positivity rate in Anderson County, including all cases and all tests, has trended up in the past 10 days, from 1.3 percent on June 26 to 1.7 percent on July 5.

The case doubling time in the county has dropped from more than 20 days down to 17 days, meaning the total number of cases is increasing faster.

There were relatively small increases in the total case count in Anderson County through about June 5, when there were usually one or two new cases at most per day—and many days with no increases.

But that changed starting around June 6. At that time, there were 45 cases in Anderson County. Since then, in about a month, the county has added almost 100 new cases. It’s not clear why.

Statewide, the number of total cases passed 50,000 on Saturday and increased to 51,431 on Sunday. Tennessee is now adding more than 1,000 new cases each day, with a high of 1,822 new cases reported on Friday.

The number of active cases in Tennessee passed 20,000 on Sunday. Nashville reporter Phil Williams reported that the number of active infections is now doubling every three weeks instead of four.

There have been 637 deaths in Tennessee due to COVID-19. There have been 2,860 hospitalizations and 30,043 recoveries.

As of Thursday, there were 660 patients hospitalized in Tennessee with COVID-19, up a few hundred from 430 on June 19.

The statewide positivity rate was 7.3 percent on Sunday, in the range of what has been reported for other recent days. The case doubling time remained at about 31 days. The death doubling time was longer, about 43 days.

The Memphis and Nashville areas remain the most affected by COVID-19. But the Chattanooga area and Knoxville area are also both significantly affected.

State, county statistics

Statewide, the hospitalization and death rates have dropped over time, but the recovery rate has dropped recently as well as the number of active cases has climbed. The death rate has declined slower than the hospitalization rate.

The hospitalization rate is now about 5.6 percent, and the death rate is about 1.3 percent. The recovery rate has dropped several percentage points recently; it’s now down to about 59 percent. Not long ago, it was 66 percent.

The average age of patients has also dropped in the past few months. It’s now at about 39, down from 44 in late April.

The highest number of cases in the state is in Shelby County. The case count there is 11,793. There have been 200 deaths in Shelby County.

In Davidson County, 11,089 cases have been reported, and 122 deaths have been reported.

Other counties with case counts of more than 1,000 include Rutherford (Nashville area), with 2,987 cases and 35 deaths; Hamilton (Chattanooga area), with 2,781 cases and 35 deaths; Sumner (Nashville area), with 1,610 cases and 52 deaths; Trousdale (Turner Trousdale Correctional Center), with 1,498 cases and five deaths; and Williamson (Nashville area), with 1,313 cases and 15 deaths.

Knox County had 1,171 total cases on Sunday, with seven deaths now reported, up from five.

Another East Tennessee county, Sevier County, a tourist destination, has seen its case count climb significantly. Sevier County now has 804 cases and three deaths.

Here is COVID-19 case information about other counties surrounding Anderson County:

• Loudon County has reported 287 cases and one death.
• Roane County has reported 62 cases and no deaths.
• Campbell County has reported 48 cases and one death.
• Morgan County has reported 27 cases and one death.
• Union County has reported 18 cases and no deaths.
• Scott County has reported 17 cases and no deaths.

COVID-19 is a new, contagious respiratory illness that can be deadly. It can cause a range of health issues that can last weeks or months, including fevers, body aches, fatigue, coughing, and breathing problems, among other reported symptoms. The long-term effects remain unknown.

It can be spread by respiratory droplets from coughing, sneezing, talking, and singing.

The disease appears to be especially deadly to patients who are 61 years old and older, according to data from the Tennessee Department of Health. In Tennessee, the number of deaths starts rising in the 41-50 age group, and it continues to climb in older age groups. There have been between 117 and 216 deaths in the three oldest age groups: 61-70, 71-80, and 81 and older.

The largest number of cases continues to be among patients who are 21 to 30 years old, followed by patients who are 31 to 40, and then patients who are 41 to 50.

While some people report no symptoms or mild symptoms, others become seriously ill, sometimes for weeks, and the effects can sometimes last for months. Others are admitted to the hospital, and some patients end up in intensive care and on ventilators.

To help prevent the virus from spreading, officials have been repeatedly recommending that residents wear a face mask or covering when they are out of the house and around others, maintain a distance of at least six feet from other people when possible, and wash their hands frequently.