October 12, 2020 - What's Going On in Tennessee?
What's Going On in Tennessee?
October 12, 2020
Alabama’s 734 new cases (incl. 101 probables) sounds like an average day in October. It’s not. On just 4,603 tests (compared to the weekly rolling average of 7,628), 734 cases is actually well above average, yielding a one-day positivity rate of 16%. In fact, these numbers mean our 7-day positivity rate now stands at 13.21%, ending a 4-day streak below 13%.
Even more troubling is the hospitalization data. There are now 856 statewide patients in 105 reporting hospitals, compared to 812 patients in 101 hospitals yesterday. That is an increase of 120 patients in the last 10 days. Too early to know if the trend will continue but it’s not a good sign. Sunday and Monday cases tend to be fewer than other days of the week. If cases spike tomorrow, on top of the recent spike in hospitalizations, it’s time to start worrying.
It’s not often I devote an entire paragraph to another state but I cannot help but note the recent outbreak in our neighboring state of Tennessee. Five times this week, Tennessee has seen more than 2,000 cases, culminating in 2,965 cases today. I have no insight into why this is happening in the Volunteer State but the virus does not recognize geographic boundaries, so we should be concerned. The totals:
9/29 - 571
9/30 - 1,147
10/1 - 1,043
10/2 - 954
10/3 - 1682
10/4 - 789
10/5 - 544
10/6 - 764
10/7 - 941
10/8 - 557
10/9 - 1490
10/10- 1061
10/11 - 816
10/12 - 734
There are only 5 counties with positivity rates under 10% - two of them are Jefferson and Mobile counties. Almost one-quarter of Alabama’s counties - 17 in all - have positivity rates above 20%.