Oak Ridge Today

Halfway through, November has most COVID deaths in Anderson, Roane

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This graph shows COVID-19 deaths and hospitalizations by month in Anderson County. Note: The data for November is through Nov. 15, a partial month. (Graph by Oak Ridge Today)

More COVID-19 deaths were reported in Anderson and Roane counties during the first two weeks of November than in any previous month. That means, with two weeks remaining, November is already the worst month of the pandemic for deaths in both counties.

If current trends continue, there could also be more hospitalizations this month than in any previous month in both counties.

Anderson County reported four more deaths due to COVID-19 between Friday and Sunday, and five since Wednesday. The county has had six more hospitalizations in the past seven days.

Roane County reported four more deaths since Tuesday and seven additional hospitalizations.

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Oak Ridge Schools reports 11 COVID cases in one day

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A graph shows the number of COVID-19 cases in Oak Ridge Schools reported by school week since Wednesday, July 29, 2020. Students were on fall break for parts of weeks nine and 11, and for all of week 10. Note: Week 16 started Wednesday, Nov. 11, so it’s a partial week. (Graph by Oak Ridge Today)

Oak Ridge Schools reported 11 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, a record high.

That’s almost as many cases reported in one day as has been reported in each of the previous two weeks. Twelve cases were reported in each of the last two weeks.

Twenty-three new cases have been reported since Wednesday, according to an Oak Ridge Today tally.

With the new cases, the school system has reported 56 cases of COVID-19 since October 21. The surge started after fall break, although it’s not clear if the two events are connected.

The new cases reported Friday included four students at Oak Ridge High School, three students at Jefferson Middle School, three students at Robertsville Middle School, and a staff member at Woodland Elementary School.

Recently, the most cases, 11, have been reported among Jefferson Middle School students. Those 11 cases were reported in nine days, since Thursday, November 5.

In that same time, the second-highest number of cases, nine, were reported among Robertsville Middle School students.

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Middle schools returning to alternating schedules

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Starting Monday, middle school students who attend classes in person will return to the alternating schedules used earlier this year, Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Bruce Borchers said in a letter to families and staff members on Friday.

The transition back to alternating schedules is due to an increase in the number of students being quarantined, Borchers said. Quarantined students cannot attend school at all for face-to-face instruction, he said.

“We realized that bringing all middle school students together had the potential to increase the number of students we would be sending home to quarantine when a single peer tests positive for COVID-19,” Borchers said. “Due to the increase in the number of students being quarantined, it is our plan to transition back to the alternating A/B schedule effective Monday, November 16, 2020.”

Most students at the middle schools and high school had started the school year with staggered schedules. A minority of students selected an online-only option.

Using the staggered schedules, some students have attended classes on Mondays and Thursdays, and others have attended on Tuesdays and Fridays. Students have then had online classes the other three days.

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Tennessee reports record COVID deaths, hospitalizations

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Image courtesy Tennessee Department of Health

Tennessee reported a record number of COVID-19 deaths and hospitalizations on Wednesday.

The Tennessee Department of Health reported 89 more deaths and 1,713 current hospitalizations (up by 79). That’s the most deaths ever reported in one day due to COVID-19 in Tennessee and the highest number of current hospitalizations.

The previous high number of deaths in one day in Tennessee was 78 on Friday, October 30.

The previous high number of current hospitalizations was 1,634 on Tuesday. And Monday (1,543) was the previous high before that.

The statewide positivity rate, 11.67 percent, remained high on Wednesday.

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COVID surge continues among students

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A graph shows the number of COVID-19 cases in Oak Ridge Schools reported by school week since Wednesday, July 29, 2020, and continuing through Tuesday, Nov. 10. Students were on fall break for parts of weeks nine and 11, and for all of week 10. (Graph by Oak Ridge Today)

The COVID-19 surge that started among students and staff members at Oak Ridge Schools three weeks ago continued in the school week that ended Tuesday, with the highest number of recent cases reported among Jefferson Middle School students.

There have been five COVID-19 cases reported among Jefferson Middle School students since Thursday. That’s close to half of the cases reported in Oak Ridge Schools in the past week.

There have been two student cases reported at Robertsville Middle School since Thursday and one student and one staff member case reported at Oak Ridge High School.

A total of 12 cases were reported among students and staff members in Oak Ridge Schools in the school week between last Wednesday and this Tuesday. That matched the total of 12 cases in the previous week. There were nine cases the week before. That’s a total of 33 cases in the past three weeks, or 11 per week on average.

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Anderson reports 125 new COVID cases as state upgrades system

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A daily snapshot of COVID-19 cases in Anderson County on Sunday, Nov. 8, 2020, includes, among other information, the daily number of new cases and the daily positivity rate. (Graphic by Tennessee Department of Health)

One hundred twenty-five new cases of COVID-19 were reported in Anderson County this weekend as the state upgraded its surveillance system while warning, on Saturday, of higher potential new case numbers across the state as a backlog is cleared.

Anderson County reported 63 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, a record high, and another 62 new cases on Sunday.

Another 53 new cases were reported on Monday. From Friday to Monday, 217 new cases were reported in the county.

Before Saturday, the previous daily high in Anderson County was 46.

The 14-day average of new cases in the county exceeded 30 new cases per day for the first time. It was 31.1 on Sunday. The average in the previous two-week period was 21.6.

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Roane reports 67 new cases of COVID in one day, positivity rate near 20 percent

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A daily snapshot of COVID-19 cases in Roane County on Thursday, Nov. 5, 2020, includes, among other information, the daily number of new cases and the daily positivity rate. (Graphic by Tennessee Department of Health)

Roane County reported a record-high new 67 COVID-19 cases on Monday, and the test positivity rate in the county is very high, close to 20 percent, according to data published by the Tennessee Department of Health.

In a Facebook update, Roane County Executive Ron Woody reported an even higher number of new cases on Monday, 72. Woody said about half of those cases might be linked to one group of people.

The previous record of new daily cases in Roane County was 41 on Wednesday, October 28. (The high in Anderson County, also reported last week, is 46.)

The 14-day case average through Thursday was 26.2 new cases per day. That’s up from 15.3 in the previous two-week period in Roane County and higher than the current two-week average of 24.9 new cases per day in Anderson County.

On Thursday, the state health department said the seven-day average of the positivity rate in Roane County was 19.4 percent. That’s very high. The World Health Organization has recommended that the positivity rate be at 5 percent or lower for 14 days before activities re-open. The daily positivity rate measures the percentage of positive COVID-19 tests out of the new daily tests.

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Highest number of new COVID cases reported in AC in October

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The graph at left above shows new COVID-19 cases in Anderson County by month, and the graph at right shows deaths and hospitalizations by month. (Graphs by Oak Ridge Today)

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.

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COVID cases surge among school students, staff

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A graph shows the number of COVID-19 cases in Oak Ridge Schools reported by school week since Wednesday, July 29, 2020. Students were on fall break for parts of weeks nine and 11, and for all of week 10. Note: Week 15 started Wednesday, Nov. 4, so it’s a partial week. (Graph by Oak Ridge Today)

The number of new COVID-19 cases reported among students and staff members surged in Oak Ridge Schools during the past three weeks.

There have been 27 cases reported since October 15. That’s an average of nine new cases per week during a three-week period.

It’s about triple the average number of new cases reported during the previous high period in August, when roughly 3.3 new cases were reported per week during a three-week period.

The increase in new cases in the school system has occurred as the number of new cases has also risen significantly in Anderson County and Tennessee, surpassing the July peak.

The 27 cases reported in the past three weeks in Oak Ridge Schools represents about 57 percent of the total 47 cases reported since the school year started July 29.

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Two more COVID deaths reported in AC as state reports record deaths

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A daily snapshot of COVID-19 cases in Anderson County on Friday, Oct. 30, 2020, includes, among other information, the daily number of new cases and the daily positivity rate. (Graphic by Tennessee Department of Health)

Two more COVID-19 deaths were reported in Anderson County on Friday as the state reported a record-high number of deaths, 78, and the current upward trend in new cases has surpassed the July peak. A new case was reported in Oak Ridge Schools (a staff member at Oak Ridge High School), and two more hospitalizations were reported in Anderson County.

COVID-19 cases have been surging up for the second time this year in Anderson County and Tennessee, and heading up for the third time nationwide. It’s not clear when any of those upward trends might peak.

Anderson County reported record-high one-day increases on Wednesday (40) and Thursday (46). The new case counts were lower on Friday (35) and Saturday (20).

The county has had a total 1,868 cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began March 20. There have been 16 deaths and 49 hospitalizations.

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Young patients have largest number of COVID cases in Anderson County

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The largest number of COVID-19 cases in Anderson County is among young patients, with the 11-20 age group now reporting the most cases of any age group. (Graph by Oak Ridge Today using information from Tennessee Department of Health)

The largest number of COVID-19 cases in Anderson County is among young patients, with the 11-20 and 21-30 age groups now reporting the most cases of any age groups.

For more than a week, the case count among the 11-20 age group has been higher than the case count among the 21-30 age group.

That’s a change since earlier in the pandemic, when the 21-30 age group usually had the most cases of any age group, followed by several older age groups. It’s not clear what accounts for the change.

The 21-30 age group still has a high number of cases, and that age group still has close to the same number of cases as the 11-20 age group, according to information published by the Tennessee Department of Health. And on some recent days at least in the past month, the total number of cases among the 21-30 age group has been higher than the number among the 11-20 age group.

The two groups together now account for about one-third of COVID-19 cases in Anderson County.

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