April 9 COVID-19 update: 4,634 cases, 94 deaths in Tennessee

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — The Tennessee Department of Health has confirmed 4,634 cases of COVID-19 in the state. The department said 94 deaths have been reported.

Eighty percent of the deaths reported were patients who were at least 60 years old.

TDH released updated numbers on Thursday, saying there have been 505 hospitalizations and 921 people have recovered from the virus.

Governor Bill Lee will provide his daily update on the state's response to the pandemic at 3 p.m.

Watch his update below:

Dr. Lisa Piercey, Tennessee Department of Health commissioner, said starting Friday, the state will begin requiring nursing homes to report when there are two or more cases in residents or staff.

Earlier in the day, Metro health officials confirmed 1,231 cases and 13 COVID-19 related deaths in Davidson County. Today's numbers represent an increase of 91 cases in the past 24 hours. Health officials also confirmed a 73-year-old man died from the virus, bringing the county's death toll to 13.

The MPHD COVID-19 Hotline received 238 calls on Wednesday, April 8, 2020.

Nashville Mayor John Cooper said due to technical difficulties with the state's data collection service, they do not yet have full numbers. They'll provide updates throughout the day as they become available.

Eighteen days into his "Safer at Home" order, Cooper said the public's commitment to social distancing is having an impact on the curve. However, everyone should remain vigilant.

"One thing to keep in mind is we cannot let up our efforts after the day that we peak. The peak represents the highest number of people infected at one time. That is then reflected as hospitalizations and a challenge for our health systems. The peak has not begun," he said.

Dr. Edmond Jackson, the chief data officer for HCA, said social policies have brought the curve down to a point where Nashville can keep up with the pandemic right now.

Dr. John Graves, associate professor at Vanderbilt University, spoke more in-depth about the curve and said we still need more social distancing and wide-spread testing. He said social distancing is having an impact on our case growth.

Graves said over the last several weeks, a team at Vanderbilt has been developing a model that’s unique to Tennessee. The model is calibrated to the situation in the state and it learns as things change.

They’re modeling three, possible scenarios for the coming weeks and months.

The most optimistic trajectory is that social distancing would resume until April or May. In that case, he said the model is predicting a peak in early to mid-May with 2,000 to 3,000 patients being hospitalized statewide – compared to the 500 that are hospitalized statewide today.

A slightly less positive scenario would mean we would maintain the current transmission number through May, with a peak in June and hospitals stressed to capacity. Graves said the third scenario, in which social distancing is lifting prematurely, the epidemic overwhelms hospital capacity by mid-May.

Current county-by-county numbers are available in the map below this story, updated daily after 2 p.m. These numbers may not add up the total number, as the daily reports from the Tennessee Department of Health often have dozens of cases that have yet been linked to a county.

Nashville has three Community Assessment Centers for COVID-19:

• Nissan Stadium Lot “N”, 1 Titans Way, Nashville, TN 37213

• Meharry Medical College 918 21^st Ave North, Nashville, TN 37208

• Residents must first call to receive an initial assessment by a public health professional. Callers can also access recorded messages, which provide the latest information about COVID-19 and details about the Safer at Home Order.

The hotline number is 615-862-7777 and is available from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. seven days a week in both Spanish and English.

Editor's Note: We are publishing updates to our COVID-19 count multiple times daily, but with a new story created each day to help track the growth of the virus in the state. Our latest reporting will always be at the top of our website at https://www.newschannel5.com. If this story is more than 24 hours old, (the date this story was published is available at the top of our story, just under the headline) please head to our homepage for our most accurate information.