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Coronavirus Has Officially Hit All 95 Tennessee Counties

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Courtesy Tennessee Department of Tourism
Elrod Falls is a local attraction in Hancock County, which has been largely cut off from the coronavirus pandemic.
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Hancock County now has a confirmed case of the coronavirus, and with that, the virus has reached every corner of the state. Today the Tennessee Department of Health reported 367 new cases, four new fatalities and nine new hospitalizations.

The mayor of Hancock County, Tom Harrison, told USA Today this week that the virus has “had trouble finding us” because “you either have to go over a ridge or a mountain.”

“You have to have us on your mind to get here,” Harrison said of his Appalachian community on the Kentucky state line, population 6,500. The county seat of Sneedville is 40 minutes from any other town. There is no Walmart and just a single grocery store.

An analysis by the Tennessean found that Hancock also had the worst testing rate in the state. However, the Tennessee Department of Health’s regional medical director says it’s not for a shortage of tests, but rather a lack of people showing up to be tested.

Hancock had been one of just 200 counties nationwide without a single confirmed case of COVID-19, with many of the locations west of the Mississippi River where population can be even more sparse.

Blake Farmer, Host, This Is Nashville

Blake Farmer is the host of “This Is Nashville,” the flagship weekday show of Nashville Public Radio. Previously, Blake spent 16 years at WPLN News, serving as host, editor and news director. Before a two-year radio hiatus with a Nashville-based healthcare company, Blake was one of the country’s most prolific healthcare audio journalists. He produced stories for both local and national programs, extending the reach of his reporting through a partnership with KFF Health News. Outside of work, Blake can be found running or biking on roads that other Nashvillians consider too busy for such activities. So far, he has always made it home to his wife of 20 years and two children.

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