Knox County announces 50th COVID-19 death in November as hospitalizations continue to grow

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) – COVID-19 deaths and current hospitalizations continue to add to Knox County’s deadliest yet for the virus.

A record-high 114 Knox County residents are hospitalized with COVID-19 according to the latest data released Thursday, seven more than reported on Wednesday. 

The Knox County Health Department also reported two new deaths and 147 new COVID-19 cases. The active case count in Knox County dropped to 1,913, 60 fewer cases than reported on Wednesday.

The active case count has decreased by more than 400 during the past three days.

There have been 50 deaths from COVID-19 reported in Knox County this month, surpassing July’s high of 35. KCHD has reported 155 coronavirus-related deaths since the pandemic hit Knox County in March, 149 of those have happened since July 2.

Reported Knox County deaths by month

• November: 50 deaths
• October: 21 deaths
• September: 26 deaths
• August: 19 deaths
• July: 35 deaths

The inactive case count grew by 236 for a total of 16,412 in the county.

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.

Of the 17,471 total confirmed Knox County cases reported since the pandemic began, 584 of them have resulted in hospitalization. There are 1,009 probable cases listed on the Health Department dashboard.

KCHD is closed to the public for Thanksgiving and Friday, Nov. 27. There will not be COVID-19 testing on those two days, nor will the phone bank be operational. The Health Department is not giving an update on Thanksgiving Day.

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.