Every week, the Times Free Press will publish five essential things to know about the coronavirus pandemic in the Chattanooga region. For more updated case count numbers and other data related to Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama, visit timesfreepress.com/virus.
Five things to know about COVID-19 in the Chattanooga region for the week ending Dec. 4.
1. Hamilton County suspends COVID-19 contact tracing efforts during record surge: Health Department will continue contacting patients with positive cases, but not their close contacts.
Why it matters: Contact tracing has been a key part of understanding and slowing the spread of coronavirus since the pandemic began. When a COVID-19 case is confirmed, case investigators determine the infected person’s whereabouts and help notify their close contacts that they, too, could now be infected. But with the recent surge in Chattanooga, the health department announced Friday it did not have capacity to continue such operations during the ongoing surge.
Read more about the announcement and what it means for the virus in Hamilton County.
2. Infection rates soar at Hamilton County nursing homes: The area’s most vulnerable residents are facing an increased risk as the virus spreads in the community.
Why it matters: This week, Hamilton County averaged seven active cases per 1,000 residents. Yet, in Hamilton County’s long-term care facilities, using the same calculation from last week’s data, there are 183 active cases per 1,000 residents. Elderly people face an increased risk of serious illness or death from COVID-19, and the majority of people in long-term care facilities have underlying health issues, another factor that increases their risk.
Read more about the outbreak in area facilities and what can be done to protect residents.
3. Hamilton County mayor asks former health care workers to help relieve hospital and nursing home staffs: The systems are not overwhelmed at the moment but the mayor is preparing for the worst.
Why it matters: Mayor Jim Coppinger said he expects an increase in cases and hospitalizations following the Thanksgiving holiday and this week called on former health care workers to return to the workforce to ease the strain on local health systems. People who return would not be tasked with caring for COVID-19 patients but free up current medical staff to take on those tasks. In a tweet Friday, Coppinger said 55 people have volunteered so far.
Read more about the call to increase local health care infrastructure.
4. Hamilton County Schools will be the first Tennessee district to begin COVID-19 rapid testing pilot: Local middle school staff will be at the front of the line.
Why it matters: Tennessee’s Department of Health and the Department of Education will create a multi-phased rollout of on-site testing in Hamilton County beginning Dec 4. The tests are less reliable than the those administered at testing locations like the health department’s Alstom site but do provide rapid results that can allow people to seek further testing, when necessary.
Read more about the testing program in local schools.
5. More Hamilton County men are dying from COVID-19 than women: Answering why gets complicated fast, but it has a lot to do with behavior.
Why it matters: Despite accounting for 49% of the county’s population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, Hamilton County men are nearly 60% of the county’s total coronavirus deaths. According to health experts, a lot of this has to do with behavior: Men are more likely to engage in high-risk activities and less likely to seek medical care until issues become serious. Transfer these existing trends to the current pandemic and some of the disparities become more clear.
Read more about the trend of deaths among area men and what is driving it.
What are your experiences with the coronavirus? Are you or someone you love affected by it? What questions do you have? We would like to hear from you, so please contact efite@timesfreepress.com or wmassey@timesfreepress.com.