Note: After this story was published, the first COVID-19 case was confirmed in Anderson County.
This story was last updated at 11:55 p.m.
The number of COVID-19 cases in Tennessee jumped to 154 on Thursday, up from 98 on Wednesday.
That’s a 57 percent increase in one day, the largest day-to-day increase. The increase is due to more tests being available, said Lisa Piercey, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Health.
There are 15 hospitalizations but no deaths, Piercey said.
The contagious respiratory illness is now in 17 counties, but about half of the cases are in Davidson County, which includes Nashville, in Middle Tennessee.
The total number of cases could be higher because there could be cases that have not yet been reported to the Tennessee Department of Health, which releases its state total at 2 p.m. each day. For example, a COVID-19 case confirmed in Anderson County on Thursday afternoon is not yet included in the state total.
Piercey said the state is still struggling to get some supplies in some areas, particularly personal protective equipment, but there are efforts that could help supply items like masks, according to Tennessee Governor Bill Lee.
For screening for testing, the state is giving priority to health care workers, people over 65 years old, and those who are hospitalized.
Tennessee is now roughly where Washington, one of the most-affected states, was roughly a week and a half ago, in terms of total number of cases of illness caused by the new coronavirus.
The largest number of cases in the state are in Davidson County, which includes Nashville in Middle Tennessee. There are 75 cases there.
There are another 30 cases in Williamson County, south of Nashville.
No other county has more than four cases. Shelby County, which includes Memphis in West Tennessee, has four cases. Sumner County has three cases, and Knox and Robertson counties each have two.
Counties with one case each are Campbell, Cheatham, Cumberland, Dyer, Hamilton, Jefferson, Montgomery, Rutherford, Sevier, Sullivan, and Wilson. Anderson County will presumably be added to that list after the COVID-19 confirmation on Thursday.
Residents of other states and countries account for 26 cases in Tennessee. Those are residents of other states and countries who were tested here. There is one case reported of a person of unknown residence, according to the Tennessee Department of Health update on Thursday afternoon.
Tennessee reported its first case on Thursday, March 5, in Middle Tennessee.
The largest number of confirmed cases in Tennessee are of people between 21-30 years old. They account for 43 cases.
The next age range with the most cases is 31-40. They account for 32 cases.
Here’s the age breakdown:
- 0-10 years old: 2 cases
- 11-20: 9
- 21-30: 43
- 31-40: 32
- 41-50: 24
- 51-60: 18
- 61-70: 10
- 71-80: 8
- 80-plus: 8
Leave a Reply