COVID-19 cases are back on the rise in Hamilton County in the past week, with the county health department also reporting seven deaths since last Wednesday.
The county is averaging 90 new cases a day in the past week, up from last week's average of 65 new cases a day. On Wednesday, the health department announced 102 new cases, bringing the county total up to 6,380. There were 75 people hospitalized with the virus and 25 people in the intensive care unit on Wednesday.
Yet - when accounting for per capita cases, such as the number of daily new cases per 10,000 residents - Hamilton County remains in the middle across the region. These per capita calculations allow for helpful comparisons between urban and rural areas.
Here is what the coronavirus data is showing in the past week.
Where cases are rising
Cases spiked dramatically in Chattooga County, Georgia, in the past week. The county moved from averaging 3.11 new cases per 10,000 residents to 5.18 new cases this week.
Similarly, cases spiked in Bledsoe County, Tennessee, moving from 1.94 new cases per 10,000 people last week to 4.16 this week.
Cases are increasing in Bradley, Grundy, Hamilton, McMinn and Sequatchie counties in Tennessee; as well as in Gordon County, Georgia.
Where cases are falling
Polk and Rhea counties in Tennessee saw a sharp drop in cases in the past week. Polk County's number of new cases per 10,000 residents decreased from 4.92 last week to 2.72 this week. In Rhea County, the new cases dropped from 2.58 to 1.42.
Cases declined in Marion and Meigs counties in Tennessee; Catoosa and Whitfield counties in Georgia; and in DeKalb County, Alabama.
Contact Wyatt Massey at wmassey@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6249. Follow him on Twitter @news4mass.