NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – The Tennessee Department of Health has confirmed additional cases of COVID-19 across the state on Thursday, July 23.
The health department reported 2,570 new cases, bringing the state to 86,987 total cases, a 3% day-to-day increase since Wednesday. Of the total cases, 86,117 are confirmed and 870 are probable.
Tennessee’s seven-day new cases average increased to 2,207 additional cases per day.
TDH also confirmed 37 additional deaths, bringing Tennessee up to 925 total deaths.
Out of the confirmed positive cases, 51,661 have recovered, an increase of 1,913 recoveries.
The latest number of hospitalizations went up by 109 to 4,016. This is the second day in a row the department has reported an increase of 109 hospitalizations. 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 86,987 cases, 43,500 are male (50%), 42,347 are female (49%), and 1,140 are pending (1%).
Tennessee has conducted 1,295,115 tests with 1,208,128 negative results. The percentage for positive cases remains around 6.7%. Thursday’s update added 32,122 tests to the state’s total. Thursday’s positive case percentage was 8%
COVID-19 in Nashville
Earlier Thursday, Metro Public Health Department officials reported 18,830 cases of COVID-19 in Davidson County.
During Tuesday’s Metro Coronavirus Task Force’s press conference, Mayor John Cooper announced restaurants and other businesses that serve alcohol in Nashville and Davidson County will be required to close by 10 p.m.
Last week, Cooper ordered the closure of many “transpotainment” services in the city through the end of the month amid a growing number of coronavirus cases. Bars will continue to be closed until the end of the month.
A report released on Wednesday from the Center for Public Integrity says a leader of the White House Coronavirus Task Force warned 11 major cities, including Nashville, to take “aggressive” action to mitigate COVID-19 outbreaks.
Tennessee’s COVID-19 Response
School districts across the state are working to finalize plans and back-up plans for the upcoming school year. More than a dozen Middle Tennessee schools have released their plans.
The TSSAA’s Board of Control voted to pass a broad range of new rules to deal with COVID-19 in the coming school year. Check out the full list here.
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.
A number of retailers and restaurants are also requiring masks while visiting their stores. See a full list of locations here.
Governor Bill Lee announced Thursday the launch of a public service announcement campaign “Face It. Masks Fight COVID-19,” that urges all Tennesseans to fight against the spread of COVID-19 by wearing a mask.
Last month, 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.
