KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — More than 500 more Knox County residents have COVID-19, according to Thursday’s report by the Knox County Health Department.
Nine more deaths seal December’s fate as the deadliest month for the virus in Knox County so far, more than doubling November’s death toll.
The Knox County Health Department announced 517 new cases of the virus.
The spike comes after three straight days of reporting fewer than 200 cases. On Tuesday, Health Department Director Dr. Martha Buchanan said she believes the declining case numbers were because fewer people were getting tested during the holidays.
KCHD also reported nine new deaths related to the virus, brining the total to 324 since the start of the pandemic. All but six of the fatalities have been reported since July 2.
Reported Knox County deaths by month
- December: 155 deaths
- November: 62 deaths
- October: 21 deaths
- September: 26 deaths
- August: 19 deaths
- July: 35 deaths
The active case count in Knox County now stands at 5,087, an increase of 186 from Wednesday.
The Health Department also reported 169 county residents are hospitalized with COVID-19, a decrease of eight from Wednesday’s record high.
There are 3,274 probable cases in Knox County.
The number of inactive cases among Knox County residents now stands at 28,261.
Of the 30,389 cases confirmed cases in Knox County since the pandemic began, 786 have resulted in hospitalizations.
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