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Updated: State sets another record in new daily COVID cases

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There was free drive-through testing for COVID-19 in the Oak Ridge High School parking lot on Wednesday, April 15, 2020. Note: Some faces have been blurred in the photo above to protect patient privacy. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Note: This story was last updated at 10:15 p.m.

Tennessee set another record in new daily cases of COVID-19, with 1,822 more cases reported Friday.

The number of active cases in the state rose to more than 18,000.

There have now been more than 11,000 cases in Shelby County, which includes Memphis in West Tennessee, and more than 10,000 cases in Davidson County, which includes Nashville in Middle Tennessee.

In East Tennessee, the case count has passed 1,000 in Knox County, which includes Knoxville, and there are more than 2,000 cases in Hamilton County, which includes Chattanooga.

Eleven more illnesses were reported in Anderson County on Friday. That’s the highest one-day increase.

There have now been 116 cases in Anderson County. Subtracting recoveries and deaths, there are now 42 active cases in the county, which is a high.

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COVID-19 cases rise by 1,800, another new high

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A summary of COVID-19 cases in Tennessee through Wednesday, July 1, 2020. (Image courtesy Tennessee Department of Health)

Note: This story was last updated at 7:35 p.m.

COVID-19 cases in Tennessee rose by about 1,800 on Wednesday, another new high as the case count surges in Tennessee.

The previous high of 1,410 new cases was just five days ago, on Friday, June 26.

There were five new deaths reported Wednesday and 50 new hospitalizations. Current hospitalizations climbed from 527 on Monday to 574 on Tuesday.

Tennessee has now averaged more than 1,000 new cases per day for the last four days, which is a new trend. It’s not clear how long that trend might continue, if it continues.

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Tennessee reports more than 3,000 new COVID cases in three days

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A graph showing daily new COVID-19 cases in Tennessee through Monday, June 29, 2020. (Graph by Ken Mayes/Used with permission)

Tennessee reported more than 3,000 new COVID-19 cases in the past three days—an average of more than 1,000 new cases per day—and the number of cases has passed 100 in Anderson County.

There are now about 15,300 active cases in Tennessee and 32 active cases in Anderson County.

The Tennessee Department of Health did not report COVID-19 data on Sunday because of an unplanned shutdown of the state system. But the two-day numbers released Monday showed an average of more than 1,000 new cases per day for Sunday and Monday.

The state reported an additional 1,212 new cases on Tuesday. That is the second-highest new daily total reported since the first case was diagnosed in the state on Wednesday, March 4.

The highest daily total in Tennessee, 1,410, was reported just four days ago, on Friday.

The COVID-19 dashboard by the Tennessee Department of Health through Monday, June 29, 2020.

The Baker Center for Public Policy at the University of Tennessee said the seven-day average for new cases in the state has reached a new all-time high every day since June 24.

Hospitalizations are also at an all-time high. There have been an average of 47 new hospitalizations each day, the Baker Center said.

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Updated: State reports new daily high in COVID cases

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This COVID-19 dashboard by the Tennessee Department of Health is through Saturday, June 27, 2020.

Note: This story was last updated at 2:30 p.m. June 28.

Tennessee reported about 1,400 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, a new daily high, and the state passed 40,000 total cases on Saturday.

There were 1,410 new cases reported Friday. Of those, 1,396 were new confirmed cases, according to the Tennessee Department of Health. Fourteen were new probable cases.

The previous high was 1,188 new cases a week earlier, on June 19.

Seven of the state’s top 10 highest new daily case counts have been in the past two weeks. Five of them have been in the past five days.

The number of cases increased by 728 on Saturday, pushing the total to 40,172. Of those cases, 39,848 were confirmed, and 324 were probable.

The number of cases in Anderson County rose by one to 90 on Saturday. The day before, on Friday, the case count went up by eight, the highest increase in the county. Previously, the largest daily increase had been five.

While the hospitalization rate has fallen across the state, the number of current hospitalizations has increased during the past few weeks from 391 on Friday, June 12, to 484 on Thursday, June 25.

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COVID-19 cases pass 30,000 in Tennessee

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Graph courtesy Ken Mayes (used with permission)

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).

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COVID-19 cases pass 20,000 in Tennessee

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Graph by Ken Mayes (used with permission)

The number of COVID-19 cases in Tennessee passed 20,000 on Sunday.

The Tennessee Department of Health reported 20,145 confirmed cases on Sunday, with 336 deaths and 12,837 recoveries since the first case was reported in the state in early March.

It was a 1.8 percent daily increase in the number of new cases. During the past two weeks, the daily percentage increase has ranged from 0.6 percent to 3.7 percent.

The number of new cases reported in Tennessee each day has ranged between and 100 and 623. The number of new cases reported Sunday was 356.

The number of deaths reported per day has ranged between two fatalities and 14 the past two weeks. Seven deaths were reported on Sunday.

The doubling time in the number of cases—the amount of time it took to go from 10,000 cases to 20,000 cases—was 26 days. For deaths, it was about 32 days (166 deaths on April 22 and 336 on Sunday). That’s a longer doubling time than reported earlier in the pandemic in Tennessee.

The seven-day average of the percentage increase in new cases in Tennessee had dropped from 2.41 percent on May 12 to 1.79 percent on May 20, but it climbed back up to 2.11 percent on Sunday.

It’s not clear what impact, if any, the expiration of the “stay at home” order in April and the re-opening of businesses last month and this month have had on the increase in the number of cases.

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Covenant Health testing blood plasma treatment in COVID-19 patients

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Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge, which is part of Covenant Health, is pictured above. (Submitted photo)

Covenant Health hospitals, including Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge, are testing blood plasma to treat COVID-19 patients.

It’s part of a nationwide effort to treat some COVID-19 patients with convalescent plasma transfusions as part of a clinical trial. The convalescent plasma is donated by patients who have recovered from COVID-19. As part of an experiment, it is being given to current COVID-19 patients who are experiencing severe or life-threatening symptoms, Covenant Health announced Friday.

Plasma is the liquid component of blood that contains many useful proteins and antibodies.

“It is commonly used in the daily practice of medicine for treating certain conditions,” said Covenant Health pathologist Mark Williams, a doctor who is the principal investigator for the clinical trial. “Convalescent plasma refers to plasma that has been donated by patients who have recovered from COVID-19 and is likely to contain antibodies to the SARS-CoV 2 virus.”

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COVID-19 cases pass 10,000

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Image courtesy Tennessee Department of Health

Note: This story was updated at 5:45 p.m.

The number of COVID-19 cases in Tennessee passed 10,000 on Tuesday.

The number of new cases reported fell to 134. That was just a 1.4 percent daily increase in COVID-19 cases, the lowest percentage increase going back to at least March 20.

It came just two days after the biggest one-day increase. On Sunday, 478 new COVID-19 cases were reported, the most new cases reported in one day in Tennessee.

But Tennessee Department of Health Commissioner Lisa Piercey has urged residents to not focus too much on the daily variations in the number of cases. People should instead focus on trends, Piercey said.

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COVID-19 cases rise by more than 2,000 as testing increases

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Graph by Ken Mayes (used with permission)

Note: This story was last updated at 5:45 p.m.

The number of COVID-19 cases increased by more than 2,000 in Tennessee last week as testing increased by more than 40,000.

The total number of cases passed 7,000, then 8,000, then 9,000 last week. The case count increased by 30 percent in one week. The Tennessee Department of Health reported 9,189 cases on Saturday, up from 7,070 on April 19.

But testing was up even more, a roughly 45 percent increase. The number of tests rose from 97,098 on Sunday, April 19, to 141,406 on Saturday, April 25.

The daily growth rate in the number of new cases had dropped to a low of 2.2 percent on Tuesday, April 21, but it has since increased to more than 5 percent. The number of new cases reported each day had been down to 156, but it’s now over 400.

The increase in the number of tests included more than 11,000 tests reported by the state of Tennessee at free drive-through sites last weekend. It was the largest number of tests in the state over a two-day period, Tennessee Governor Bill said Monday. The testing has been expanded to include patients without traditional COVID-19 symptoms.

Expanding testing capacity is an important step to re-open the state’s economy, Lee said. The governor has announced that he will not extend a stay-at-home order past April 30, and restaurants are able to reopen Monday at 50 percent occupancy and retailers are able to reopen Wednesday at 50 percent occupancy.

The increase in the number of cases in Tennessee has included inmates at a state prison, the Bledsoe County Correctional Complex in Pikeville. The Tennessee Department of Correction reported that 576 inmates tested positive for COVID-19 after a large testing event last weekend, although most didn’t show symptoms, and more than 2,000 people have been tested, according to the Tennessean newspaper in Nashville.

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Only those who meet CDC criteria can be tested Friday

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Free drive-through testing for COVID-19 started Wednesday morning, April 15, 2020, in the Oak Ridge High School parking lot. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Only people who meet certain criteria can be tested for COVID-19 at Oak Ridge High School today (Friday, April 17).

The criteria, established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, include only people with COVID-19 symptoms, first responders, health care workers, and patients who may have been exposed to the virus, the City of Oak Ridge said Thursday night.

COVID-19 symptoms include fever, cough, or shortness of breath. COVID-19 is a contagious respiratory illness that can be deadly.

Appointments for testing must be made online at KrogerHealth.com/COVIDtesting or by phone at (888) 837-8852.

If someone who meets CDC criteria is unable to register online or by phone, they can be registered on site, but they still need to meet the CDC criteria, the city said.

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Updated: Kroger Health testing all, regardless of symptoms

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Free drive-through testing for COVID-19 started Wednesday morning, April 15, 2020 in the Oak Ridge High School parking lot. Note: Some people’s faces have been blurred in the photo above to protect patient privacy. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Friday update: Only people who meet certain criteria can be tested for COVID-19 at Oak Ridge High School today (Friday, April 17). See newer story here.

Kroger Health is now testing everyone at an Oak Ridge site, regardless of whether they show symptoms of COVID-19, a city spokesperson said Thursday morning.

The testing site opened at Oak Ridge High School on Wednesday morning, and it is open through Friday afternoon.

Initially, those who wanted to be tested had to have symptoms and meet testing criteria. Symptoms of COVID-19, a contagious respiratory illness that can be deadly, include fever, cough, or shortness of breath.

But the testing criteria changed after Tennessee Governor Bill Lee on Wednesday announced free testing for all Tennessee residents.

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Drive-through testing starts for COVID-19

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Free drive-through testing for COVID-19 started Wednesday morning, April 15, 2020, in the Oak Ridge High School parking lot. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Note: This story was last updated at 2:55 p.m.

Drive-through testing for COVID-19 started Wednesday morning in Oak Ridge.

The free testing is being offered by the City of Oak Ridge and Kroger Health. It’s scheduled from Wednesday, April 15, to Friday, April 17, in the Oak Ridge High School parking lot near Oak Ridge Turnpike.

Before testing began Wednesday morning, about 200 appointments had been scheduled over a three-day period, the City of Oak Ridge said.

Up to 250 people can be tested at the drive-through station each day. You do not need to be an Oak Ridge citizen to get tested, the city said.

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