NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) – The Tennessee Department of Health reported Saturday that the COVID–19 case count is 12,661 as the easing of restrictions on businesses continues.
The one-day increase in cases Saturday was 770, up 6.5%. Deaths were up by five to 209, a 2.5% increase from Friday, according to figures from the Tennessee Department of Health.
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A large spike in coronavirus cases this week in the state came from positive tests in prisons, Gov. Bill Lee said Friday. That continued in the statistics released Saturday with 324 new cases in Trousdale County, where there is an outbreak affecting nearly all the inmate population at a state correctional facility.
The Tennessee county tops the list of hotspots in the nation in cases per capita, according to The New York Times. Bledsoe County, where there is another large prison outbreak of the virus, is No. 4 on that list.
The state plans to test its entire prison population.
The Tennessee Department of Correctcions also said it has delivered more than 93,000 masks for staff, inmates, county jails, and healthcare workers. COVID-19 disinfection and safety measures are ongoing at all state corectional facilities and is practicing recommendations from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state Health Department.
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There have been 1,125 people hospitalized and 5,718 have recovered. The number of people tested for COVID-19 in the state is 196,276.
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