KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) – Knox County has reached its highest total active case count since the pandemic began after a total of 36 new cases were reported on Tuesday.

The Knox County Health Department reported 161 total active COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, up from 135 reported on Monday. Charity Menefee, director of communicable and environmental disease and emergency preparedness of the Knox County Health Department, called Monday’s growth in cases, “concerning.”

The largest previous 1-day spike in active cases was on June 2, when 23 new active cases were reported. Tuesday also marked the biggest increase in total cases.

The total number of recovered COVID-19 cases grew to 550, up from 540 on Monday. Recovered cases refer to those who have been released from isolation after seven days from their onset of symptoms, plus 72 hours of being symptom-free. Recovered does not mean necessarily the person had to be hospitalized.

There are three Knox County COVID-19 patients currently hospitalized, down from four on Monday. There have been five total deaths in Knox County from COVID-19.

Of the 716 cases, 58 of them have resulted in hospitalization at any point during the illness. There are 25 probable cases of COVID-19 listed on the county information page.

The Knox County Health Department updates its numbers daily at 11 a.m. Visit covid.knoxcountytn.gov for more information.