NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – The Tennessee Department of Health has confirmed additional cases of COVID-19 across the state on Thursday, July 9.
The health department reported 1,605 new cases, bringing the state to a total of 57,591 total cases, a 3% day-to-day increase since Wednesday. Of the total cases, 57,153 are confirmed and 438 are probable.
Over the last seven days Tennessee’s average of new daily cases has reached 1,529.
TDH also confirmed 25 additional deaths, bringing Tennessee up to 710 total deaths.
Out of the confirmed positive cases, 33,609 have recovered, an increase of 873 recoveries.
The latest number of hospitalizations went up by 65 to 3,088. A note on the department’s website states this total is an indication of the number of patients that were ever hospitalized during their illness and not an indication of the number of patients currently hospitalized.
Of the 57,591 cases, 29,784 are male (52%), 26,799 are female (47%), and 1,008 are pending (2%).
Tennessee has conducted 972,276 tests across the state with 914,685 negative results. The percentage for positive cases remains around 5.9%. Thursday’s update added 21,736 tests to the state’s total.
Earlier Thursday, Metro Public Health Department officials reported 13,440 cases of COVID-19 in Davidson County. The 688 new-cases is the county’s largest increase reported by Metro.
Also on Thursday, Metro Nashville Public Schools announced the new academic school year will begin remotely for all students.
On Tuesday, The Metro Coronavirus Task Force released the newest ‘heatmaps’ for Davidson County which show a new cluster of cases in downtown Nashville over the last few weeks.
In its Thursday morning update, the Shelby County Health Department reported 12,773 cases of COVID-19 in the county.
In an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19, several counties have issued mask requirements. Other counties are strongly encouraging the use of masks but are not requiring them at this time.
On July 2, Mayor John Cooper announced Nashville will move back into a modified version of Phase Two of the city’s road to reopening plan.
Under the new order, bars must remain closed for a minimum of 14 days. Restaurants, gyms, and high-touch businesses may open at 50% capacity, retail stores at 75% capacity, and gatherings must be limited to 25 people. Basketball courts, dog parks, splash pads, skate parks, and recreational sports leagues will remain open in Phase Two.
Last week, Governor Bill Lee signed an Executive Order to extend the State of Emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic to August 29, 2020. On Tuesday, the governor announced $81 million in COVID-19 aid, relief, and economic security funding is available for K-12 schools and higher education institutions to help with plans for a safe reopening.
On June 12, the Tennessee Department of Health announced changes to its format for sharing COVID-19 data. The department’s total number of cases and total deaths now include both laboratory-confirmed cases and probable cases as defined in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention surveillance case definitions. – Learn more about the changes here.
