NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – The Tennessee Department of Health has confirmed additional cases and deaths related to COVID-19 across the state on Friday, September 25.
The health department reported 1,910 new cases, bringing the state to 189,454 total cases, a 1% day-to-day increase since Thursday. Of the total cases, 182,542 are confirmed and 6,912 are probable.
Tennessee’s seven-day new cases average decreased to 1,280 additional cases per day.
Of the 189,454 cases, 96,664 are female (51%), 91,036 are male (48%), and 1,754 are pending (1%).
TDH also confirmed 42 additional deaths, bringing Tennessee up to 2,352 total deaths.
Out of the confirmed positive cases, 172,618 are listed as inactive/recovered, an increase of 1,465 in the last 24 hours.
The number of total hospitalizations now sits at 8,477. There are 692 people currently hospitalized.
Tennessee has processed 2,755,933 tests with 2,566,479 negative results. The percentage for positive cases remains around 6.9%. Friday’s update added 33,296 tests to the state’s total.
COVID-19 in Nashville
Earlier Friday, Metro Public Health Department officials reported an increase of 23 COVID-19 cases in Davidson County, bringing the county’s total to 28,415.
During his weekly coronavirus news conference, Nashville Mayor John Cooper announced, beginning October 1, bars and restaurants will be allowed to have 100 patrons per floor with an additional 100 patrons at an outside location, including a patio or rooftop, at up to 50% capacity. All bars and restaurants must close at 11 p.m.
Cooper said Phase Three will also allow events of up to 30% capacity or 500 people with a plan approved by the Metro Public Health Department. That will authorize the Grand Ole Opry to have an in-person audience of 500 for its 95th-anniversary show on Saturday, October 3.
Schools Moving Forward
Following the release of what has been considered “unprecedented” data, Governor Bill Lee said he will address reading and writing deficiencies for Tennessee 3rd graders.
Both he and State Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn say it’s an urgent situation that preliminary data from her department projects an estimated 50% decrease in proficiency rates in 3rd-grade reading and a projected 65% decrease in math proficiency.
“Now we have some data to substantiate what we expected,” said Governor Lee Wednesday. “We will not wait until January to begin…to develop a plan to address it. Absolutely not.”
Lee added he’ll address the dramatically dropping proficiencies for 3rd graders within weeks, but Education Commissioner Schwinn says there is no quick fix and “there must be realistic expectations” for dealing with the issue.
TDH’s Reporting Format
On September 3, the Tennessee Department of Health announced changes to the format for sharing data on COVID-19, updating how some metrics are calculated, reflecting evolving knowledge of the pandemic.
The new format reflects a change in how active cases are calculated.
Under the new format, TDH case count reports will include figures for “Inactive/Recovered” cases and will no longer include data for “Recovered” cases. “Inactive/Recovered” cases will include people who are 14 days or more beyond their illness onset date (or, for asymptomatic cases, their specimen collection date). This will more closely align with what is now understood about the infectious period of COVID-19, as recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show most patients with COVID-19 are no longer infectious after 10 days. Previously, TDH considered a case recovered after a 21-day period.
