The Tennessee Department of Health has released more information on the state of the pandemic in the state of Tennessee, in the form of a tweet. The tweet reads: “The total COVID-19 case count for Tennessee is 374,493 as of November: 30,020[/pullquote], including 4,602 deaths, 2,290 current hospitalizations and 328,710 are inactive/recovered. [Percent positive for today is 14.87%].” These numbers are very alarming, considering the total cases in the state was 196,139 at the end of September. Luckily, our state of Tennessee has dropped the amount of hospitalizations by 73.9%, from 8,773 COVID hospitalizations down to just 2,290. But, unfortunately, the percent of positive cases has risen from 6.8% on September 30th, to over 14% just a month later.

      Shelby County’s health department let out a statement regarding how their stats are rounding up at the end of November. Shelby county now has a total of 48,105 total COVID-19 related cases (containing both confirmed and probable cases), an increase of +283 since just yesterday. Shelby County is trying to slow the spike in cases, though, and on November 23rd a new health directive was set in place by the SCHD, requiring restaurants to limit their occupancy to 50%, and close their stores at 10:00 pm. The new directive also states that patrons must wear masks in businesses at all times now, only taking them off to eat/drink, and limits dining groups to 6 people, but with no more than 4 adults in a single party. Schools in Shelby County are strongly encouraged to suspend all offered contact sports for the time being. And finally, the Shelby County government is expected to provide financial supports of at least $5,000 for businesses facing health-related closures of 30 days or more. Overall, the state has been losing the battle against COVID-19 lately, and changes are being made in certain areas.