Hamilton County is averaging 93 new COVID-19 cases per day over the past week, approaching near-record levels as coronavirus cases surge across Tennessee and the United States.
On Friday, the Hamilton County Health Department reported 104 new COVID-19 cases – the third day in a row that the number of new cases in the county surpassed 100.
Hospitalizations remain higher than they’ve been in two months. Although most of the current patients are from outlying counties, the number of Hamilton County residents in local hospitals jumped from 19 on Thursday to 36 on Friday.
It’s hard to draw meaningful conclusions from one day of data, since hospitals report their COVID-19 patients at a point in time, and patient volumes can fluctuate throughout the day. However, Friday’s report represents the highest level of Hamilton County residents in local hospitals either suspected or confirmed to have COVID-19 this month.
Becky Barnes, Hamilton County health department administrator, said in an email that it’s difficult to say whether the current case spike is a “normal fluctuation” or something more. There are no specific clusters driving the current increase, she said.