Health experts are warning the rise in COVID-19 cases, likely driven by the omicron variant, may represent an undercount of the actual spread of the virus as at-home testing becomes more prevalent or people avoid traditional testing locations.
On Wednesday, the Hamilton County Health Department reported 948 new COVID-19 cases, a single-day record. The county is averaging 311 new cases a day in the past week, a sharp increase from the start of the month when the county averaged 56 new cases a day. The increase in cases is occurring most sharply among unvaccinated residents, according to state data.
The county reported 124 hospitalizations with the virus on Wednesday, the highest single-day total since mid-October.
Dr. Lisa Piercey, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Health, said in a news briefing last week the case counts will likely continue to rise, but people should look at trends in the data rather than specific data points since at-home tests are largely not reported to the state.
“We don’t really know what the case burden is because there is a substantial portion of at-home testing now that is unreported,” Piercey said. “That is going to continue, and probably increase in the future, which is another reason that daily reporting of numbers is really not that relevant anymore.”