Tennessee coronavirus cases increase by more than 1,500; 14 new deaths reported

SHELBY COUNTY, Tenn. (WMC) - The Tennessee Department of Health has announced 1,561 new cases of COVID-19 and 14 additional deaths in the state.

Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 186,709 total cases and 2,275 total deaths statewide.

The number of active COVID-19 cases in the state stands at 14,785 as of Wednesday afternoon.

The total COVID-19 case count for Tennessee is 186,709 as of September 23, 2020 including 2,275 deaths, 779 current hospitalizations and 169,649 recovered. [Percent positive for today is 8.25%.] For the full report with additional data: https://t.co/Psc3HfgZ8j. pic.twitter.com/7KvFGYZ9EQ
— TN Dept. of Health (@TNDeptofHealth) September 23, 2020

A total of 779 people are currently hospitalized in the state due to COVID-19. Nearly 170,000 Tennesseans have recovered from the virus.

The Shelby County Health Department says there are 96 new coronavirus cases in Shelby County with three new virus-related deaths reported within the last 24 hours.

The county’s total number of cases is now at 30,690 with the death toll coming in at 449 as of Wednesday morning.

SCHD says more than 28,500 people have recovered.

Here is the @ShelbyTNHealth #COVID19 update for Wednesday, September 23, 2020.

For more information, please visit https://t.co/sdaG4Xpvgb and click on COVID-19 Resource Center for the #DataDashboard page:https://t.co/3dGbVc7IEj pic.twitter.com/Q7jeQR8vup
— Shelby County Health (@ShelbyTNHealth) September 23, 2020

The health department’s health care resource tracking system shows how ICU utilization fluctuated over the weekend. On Saturday, September 19 utilization was at 88% and shifted down to 85% by Sunday. On Wednesday, the SCHD reported utilization at 89% -- very close to the red zone.

Health care officials say this system keeps track of all ICU utilization including COVID-19 patients and patients hospitalized for other health care issues.

Shelby County COVID-19 numbers - Sept. 23(WMC)

There are 20 long term care facilities currently under investigation in Shelby County due to COVID-19 clusters affecting residents and staff.

The health department is working to help them resolve the clusters.

An alternate set of facilities have reportedly completed their clusters after going 28 consecutive days without confirming a new coronavirus case. At least 115 residents and staff have died due to COVID-19 complications.