NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – The Tennessee Department of Health has confirmed additional cases of COVID-19 across the state on Thursday, July 2, 2020.
The health department reported 1,575 new cases, bringing the state to 46,890 total cases, a 3% day-to-day increase since Wednesday. Of the total cases, 46,520 are confirmed and 370 are probable.
Over the last seven days, Tennessee has reported an average of 1,265 new cases each day. The new case average is based on data reported over the last week, including the two-day totals released on Monday after the state health department decided to not issue data on June 28 due to an unplanned shutdown of the state surveillance system.
TDH also confirmed 11 additional deaths, bringing Tennessee up to 620 total deaths.
Out of the total positive cases, 28,938 have recovered, an increase of 655 recoveries.
The latest number of hospitalizations went up by 60 to 2,775. 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 46,890 cases, 24,612 are male (52%), 21,332 are female (45%), and 946 are pending (2%).
Tennessee has processed 838,084 tests across the state with 791,194 negative cases. The percentage for positive cases increased by .1% to 5.6%. Thursday’s update added an additional 20,562 processed tests to the state’s total.
Earlier Thursday, Metro Public Health Department officials reported 10,756 cases of COVID-19 in Davidson County. The 608 new cases reported is the highest single-day increase the county has seen over the course of the pandemic. 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, dogs parks, splash pads, skate parks, and recreational sports leagues will remain open in Phase Two.
The downtown Nashville fireworks display for the Fourth of July was canceled by Nashville Convention and Visitors Corporation.
Metro Department of Health issued an order to enforce the mandatory wearing of masks or face coverings in public in Nashville and Davidson County. Public Health Order 8 went into effect Monday. Anyone found in violation of the order can be cited with a Class C misdemeanor, but that does not go into effect until after July 3.
On Monday, Governor Bill Lee signed an Executive Order to extend the State of Emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic to August 29, 2020.
After the state’s record-high new cases on Wednesday, Gov. Lee singled out four counties with the biggest increase in cases over the past week. One county Lee mentioned is Rutherford County, where cases are up nearly 20%. Other counties with the highest increase are Macon, Sevier, and Bradley counties.
The governors of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut are implementing a 14-day quarantine travel advisory for anyone traveling to or returning from states with increasing rates of COVID-19. Tennessee is on the list of states meeting the criteria.
Tennessee Dept. of Health updates format
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.
