The Chattanooga area’s worst COVID-19 patient surge to date appears to be subsiding, as new cases and hospitalization data show a marked decline since their mid-September peak.
Officials expect relief from the mounting death toll to still be weeks or more away.
Though case levels and test positivity remain dangerously high, with a more than 20% positivity rate, Hamilton County is now averaging 131 new coronavirus cases per day over the past week compared to a weekly average of 366 new cases per day at the peak just over two weeks ago, according to data from the Hamilton County Health Department.
As of Tuesday, 194 people were hospitalized in Hamilton County due to COVID-19 – a significant reduction from the county’s record of 372 inpatients on Sept. 13 and the first time since Aug. 16 that the health department has reported less than 200 hospitalizations in a day.
Despite the improving hospitalization trends, the delta variant of the coronavirus that fueled the unprecedented surge continues to deal a devastating blow to patients and hospital systems. The delta variant has killed far more young people than previous surges, and patients who are hospitalized are as a whole sicker and require more intense care than in previous surges.