Elizabeth Fite

Every week, the Times Free Press will publish five essential things to know about the coronavirus pandemic in the Chattanooga region.

The number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in Tennessee and across the region continues to climb, with Hamilton County posting a single-day record of 71 coronavirus patients on Thursday.

The Times Free Press sat down with Paul Hendricks, M.D., F.A.A.F.P., a health officer with the Hamilton County Health Department, to answer some questions about the novel coronavirus on Tuesday, March 10, 2020.

Hamilton County is averaging 65 new COVID-19 cases per day for the past week — the same level of new cases the county was reporting during the height of the local case surge in early June — with community spread of the virus at its highest levels to date.

More than 60 critical care physicians from across Tennessee expressed their frustration Monday over increasing COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, calling on Gov. Bill Lee to issue a statewide face mask mandate, enforce safety guidelines and allow mayors to make public health decisions in their cities.

Hamilton County hospitals reported treating 15 fireworks-related injuries over the Fourth of July weekend.

People in Hamilton County will soon be required to wear a face covering or mask in public to help curb the spread of COVID-19, Mayor Jim Coppinger said during a media briefing on Monday.

Despite being home to 100,000 fewer people, Hamilton County has more than twice as many COVID-19 cases and more than four times as many deaths as Knox County.

Miguel Ordoñez could not take a deep breath. He could not stop coughing. The symptoms of COVID-19 that began three days earlier were growing worse.

Every week, the Times Free Press will publish essential things to know about the coronavirus pandemic in the Chattanooga region.

A state senator and two animal rights groups are calling on federal officials to take action against East Tennessee breeders they allege are shipping birds to Guam for cockfighting.

Even in America, the "land of the free," government can require that citizens wear face masks to help curb the spread of the coronavirus — a move many states and local governments are considering as new COVID-19 cases continue to swell in areas across the country.

Most Chattanooga area businesses aren't requiring patrons wear face masks to help curb the spread of COVID-19, despite pleas from health officials and ongoing reluctance from citizens to adopt mask wearing on their own.

Ruth Skates, or Mamaw Ruthie as her family calls her, peered from behind her face mask and through a window to watch as her great granddaughter, Lottie, blew bubbles on the front porch of the senior facility where she lives.

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/.

A second local pediatric death and reopening of public playgrounds in Hamilton County this week serve as reminders that while children are less susceptible to serious COVID-19 infection, they're certainly not immune.

In the face of uncertainty brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Erlanger Health System trustees authorized the hospital's Fiscal Year 2021 budget Thursday.

Tennesseans are among the least likely in the United States to wear face coverings — one of the few tools known to help stop the spread of the coronavirus — according to a report released last week.

Jan Keys, Erlanger Health System's chief nursing executive, has announced her retirement from the public health system, according to an internal message to employees.

Furloughs and reduced work schedules at Erlanger Health System that were implemented on March 30 as preparations for the COVID-19 pandemic caused a 30 to 40% drop in revenue ended Monday, according to an internal memo sent to employees.