KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) – The Knox County Health Department reported 10 new COVID-19-related deaths on Friday, the second time in 3 days the county has reported double-digit fatalities.
December is the deadliest month for COVID-19 deaths in the county with 80 reported so far, surpassing November’s record of 62.
KCHD has reported 247 coronavirus-related deaths since the pandemic hit Knox County in March. Two hundred thirty-nine of those have happened since July 2.
In all, 401 new cases of COVID-19 among Knox County residents were reported Friday. There are 138 county residents currently hospitalized, 11 more than reported Thursday.
There are now a record 4,569 active cases in Knox County, an increase of seven since Thursday. There are also 1,979 probable cases in Knox County, an increase of 93 from Thursday.
So far this month, case reports of 400 or more new cases have happened on 8 days, setting a record for the entire pandemic.
Sunday marked the biggest one-day increase in cases since the onset of the pandemic and the first time the county reported 500 cases in a single day.
Reported Knox County deaths by month
- December: 80 deaths
- November: 62 deaths
- October: 21 deaths
- September: 26 deaths
- August: 19 deaths
- July: 35 deaths
The inactive case count grew by 477 Friday for a total of 22,827 in the county.
With COVID-19 cases continuing to rise, the Knox County Board of Health voted 9-1 on Wednesday to send a resolution to Gov. Lee asking for a statewide mask mandate.
The board voted 7-3 in favor of passing a new COVID-19 Social Gathering Limitation Regulation on Dec. 2, limiting some social gatherings to 10 people. The regulation went into effect Dec. 4.
As of Sept. 4, KCHD reports “inactive” cases instead of “recovered” cases. Inactive cases include those who are 14 days or more beyond their illness onset date or, for asymptomatic cases, their specimen collection date. This is in alignment with the Tennessee Department of Health.
KCHD updates its numbers daily at 11 a.m. Visit covid.knoxcountytn.gov for more information. Press briefings by the Knox County Health Department are on Tuesday and Thursday. Briefings begin at 12:30 p.m.
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