Tennessee leads all states in COVID-19 cases per capita
Tennessee currently leads all 50 states in Coronavirus cases per capita. Tennessee ranks 4th in the nation in the COVID-19 death rate.
According to CDC data, only 51 percent of Tennessee residents are fully vaccinated, and just 16 percent have received a booster shot. Tennessee has the 7th lowest partial vaccination rate in the country at 58.3 percent. Fully vaccinated residents is at 51.1 percent.
Tennessee’s number of confirmed new cases is growing with 20,771 for the seven days ending December 23, compared to 14,447 the seven days prior. There were 3,669 newly reported COVID-19 cases and 69 newly reported COVID-19 deaths on Dec 22 alone. Tennessee has a total of 1,360,958 cases and 18,214 deaths. There are currently 1,053 people hospitalized in Tennessee.
COVID-19 cases in Franklin County jumped 20% in a week. Davidson County had a seven day average of 315 cases and 2 deaths.
Nashville mayor John Cooper reported a 10% increase in COVID-19 positive tests in recent days. Nashville has increased drive-thru COVID testing to meet demand after the case increase. State officials announced there are no plans to expand COVID testing in Tennessee, despite Omicron’s rapid spread.
Omicron is now the dominant variant in new COVID-19 infections in Tennessee. It is just two weeks after the state’s first Omicron cases were identified. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 95% of new Tennessee infections are from the Omicron variant.
Tennessee Department of Health Commissioner Lisa Piercey said this week that the Omicron variant is more contagious, but less severe, than the Delta variant. Medical experts say not enough is known yet to reach that conclusion. Piercey said that the Omicron strain of COVID-19 can have different symptoms, like no loss of taste or smell. Because of this, she said, those infected might not think they have COVID-19.
Omicron is thought to have a fast incubation period, the gap of time between someone getting exposed to the virus and then showing symptoms. Delta already made people contagious faster but Omicron’s shorter incubation period means there’s less time to pinpoint an infection before it becomes infectious. That means a negative at-home COVID-19 test on Tuesday doesn’t necessarily mean a negative test on Thursday.
On Wednesday after a review, Tennessee officials adjusted Tennessee’s number of COVID-19 deaths to 20,644, up by about 2,700.. Piercey said about 70 percent are largely linked to the Delta variant surge and occurring since Aug. 1.
The state of Tennessee is facing a lawsuit for denying public access to a consulting firm’s report recommending how to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was filed last week against the state’s Department of Human Resources over its decision to deny a public records request. Gov. Bill Lee’s administration has claimed that the records can remain secret because they were part of officials’ decision-making process.
In January 2022, Tennessee will switch to weekly COVID-19 reporting instead of daily, including infections and hospitalizations. The state will also move to weekly reporting to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Tennessee has been dogged by accusations that it’s been keeping residents in the dark since Coronavirus emerged.
Governor Lee is up for reelection in 2022. Elected in 2018, Lee is a member of the Republican Party.
