The highest number of new COVID-19 cases in Anderson County was reported in October. The increase in cases last month was about 37 percent larger than the earlier peak in July.
While October is now the peak month for cases so far, it wasn’t the worst for deaths or hospitalizations. There were three deaths due to COVID-19 in Anderson County in October and 10 hospitalizations. The most deaths, five, were reported in September, and the most hospitalizations, 16, were reported in July.
On Thursday, the Tennessee Department of Health reported that Anderson County had averaged 24.9 new cases per day during the past 14 days. That was up from 18.6 new cases per day, on average, during the previous two-week period.
The average positivity rate continues to be high. The seven-day average on Thursday was 12.6 percent, according to the Tennessee Department of Health.
The daily positivity rate measures how many COVID-19 tests are positive each day out of all the new tests that day. A positivity rate of more than 10 percent means that more than one out of 10 tests are positive. World Health Organization guidelines recommend that the positivity rate be 5 percent or below for 14 days before activities re-open.
On Thursday, Anderson County reported a total of 1,959 COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began March 20, with 53 total hospitalizations and 18 deaths, according to the Tennessee Department of Health. The number of inactive cases was reported at 1,658.
Like Anderson County, Tennessee also had a rise in new cases in October that surpassed the July peak. Hospitalizations have been at all-time highs across the state; Tennessee had 1,502 current hospitalizations on Thursday. Total deaths have exceeded 3,500, and total hospitalizations have surpassed 10,000. Tennessee reported 78 deaths on Friday, October 30, a record high, and the state reported another 75 deaths on Tuesday, November 3.
Meanwhile, the United States is experiencing its third upward trend in new cases. The country had more than 100,000 new COVID-19 cases in a day for the first time on Wednesday, and 116,255 new cases were reported Thursday. Thirty-seven states, including Tennessee, reported more than 1,000 new cases on Thursday, according to The COVID Tracking Project.
The COVID Tracking Project said there were more than 600,000 new cases reported in the United States in the week from Thursday to Wednesday. Hospitalizations have risen 14 percent, and deaths have climbed for the fourth straight week, the project said. There were more than 50,000 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in the United States on Thursday and more than 1,100 deaths, according to The COVID Tracking Project.
It’s not clear when the county, state, or country might see a sustained declining trend in new cases.
In Anderson County, two deaths and four hospitalizations have been reported in the first five days of November. It’s not clear if that trend will continue, but it doesn’t appear to be a good start to the month. Experts say COVID hospitalizations and deaths can lag new cases by a few weeks or several weeks.
Here is a summary of the increases in COVID-19 cases, deaths, and hospitalizations in Anderson County by month since July, when the pandemic worsened significantly:
July
- Cases—469
- Deaths—3
- Hospitalizations—16
August
- Cases—303
- Deaths—3
- Hospitalizations—8
September
- Cases—350
- Deaths—5
- Hospitalizations—5
October
- Cases—644
- Deaths—3
- Hospitalizations—10
November (partial month (five days))
- Cases—91
- Deaths—2
- Hospitalizations—4
