NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Friday marked the highest week of new COVID-19 hospitalizations in Tennessee since the pandemic began. The Tennessee Department of Health reported 2,091 new cases of COVID-19 Friday, bringing the state's total number of cases to 89,078.
The department said 13 additional deaths were also reported. So far, 938 deaths have been reported statewide -- of those, 904 are confirmed and 34 are probable.
TDOH officials also reported 4,120 hospitalizations and said 52,983 have recovered.
BREAKING: With today's #COVID19 report, this is officially the worst week of the pandemic for new hospitalizations in Tennessee. The state is also on verge of new weekly record in deaths. DETAILED ANALYSIS TO FOLLOW 1/ https://t.co/jG1f5ifKjs
— Phil Williams (@NC5PhilWilliams) July 24, 2020
Earlier in the day, Metro Public Health officials reported 294 new cases. Including both confirmed and probable cases, Metro officials announced a total of 19,124 cases. Of those, 19,099 are confirmed and 25 are probable.
Probable cases refer to those that do not test positive in a diagnostic test but do have supporting epidemiological and clinical evidence that a COVID-19 infection has occurred. If a person is a close contact of a COVID-19 case and has a clinically compatible illness, he or she meets the criteria to be a probable case. Additionally, if a health care provider diagnoses a person with clinically compatible illness with COVID-19, this person meets the probable case criteria.
Metro officials said five additional confirmed deaths have been reported in the past 24 hours, a 58-year-old man, a 60-year-old woman, a 62-year-old woman, a 71-year-old man and a 75-year-old woman, all with pending medical histories.
As of Friday, 166 people in Davidson County have died after a confirmed case of COVID-19. Including both confirmed and probable cases, 174 deaths have been attributed to the virus.
So far, 13,409 individuals have recovered.
Metro also released the following data:
Available hospital beds: 17 percent
Available ICU beds: 17 percent
The MPHD COVID-19 Hotline received 68 calls on Thursday, July 23, 2020.
Total number of cases: 19,124
Cases reported in the past 24 hours: 294
Cases by sex
Male: 9,705
Female: 9,144
Unknown: 275
Total Cases by age
| Unknown | 47 |
| 0-10 | 914 |
| 11-20 | 1,897 |
| 21-30 | 5,815 |
| 31-40 | 3,926 |
| 41-50 | 2,698 |
| 51-60 | 1,872 |
| 61-70 | 1,073 |
| 71-80 | 536 |
| 81+ | 346 |
| Total | 19,124 |
| Recovered | 13,409 |
| Deaths | 174 |
| Total active cases | 5,541 |
On Thursday, the Tennessee Department of Health reported 37 additional deaths, making it the highest number of deaths reported in a single day for the state. Tennessee also saw its second-highest single-day number of new cases reported.
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- Donate to the COVID-19 Middle Tennessee Emergency Response Fund
See all our coronavirus coverage here
COUNTY-BY-COUNTY CASES IN TENNESSEE
What is COVID-19 (a.k.a. the new coronavirus?)
According to the World Health Organization, coronaviruses (CoV) are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases. Examples include the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV)and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV). A novel coronavirus (nCoV) is a new strain that has not been previously identified in humans. COVID-19 stands for "Coronavirus disease 2019," which is when this strain of the coronavirus was discovered.
What are the symptoms?
The CDC says patients confirmed to have the 2019-nCoV reportedly had mild to severe respiratory illness with:
- Cough
- Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
Or at least two of the following symptoms:
- Fever
- Chills
- Repeated shaking with chills
- Muscle pain
- Headache
- Sore throat
- New loss of taste or smell
At this time, the CDC believes symptoms could appear as soon as two days after exposure, or as long as 14 days.
Prevention
The CDC is recommending "common sense" measures such as:
- Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
- Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
- Stay home when you are sick.
- Cover your mouth and nose with a cloth face cover when around others.
- Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
- Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.
