On Thursday morning, Nashville health officials reported 239 new coronavirus cases confirmed in the last 24 hours, one of the largest daily increases during the pandemic.
Officials say 80 percent of the cases are coming from household contact, which is up substantially from several weeks ago. For those catching the coronavirus on the job, most people work in construction, food production and health care, according to Metro Health.
Statewide, Tennessee Health Commissioner Lisa Piercey has said roughly half of all new infections are from an unknown origin, making them nearly impossible to trace for possible contacts.
Nashville’s positivity rate has now inched above 10%, meaning more than one in 10 people getting tested are positive. Staying below 10% has generally been held as a threshold for restarting public life.
Hospital capacity has also declined to 19%, which falls below the 20% goal for Davidson County. City health officials have noted that many COVID-19 patients in Nashville come from surrounding counties or even other parts of the state. On Wednesday, statewide hospitalizations increased by 50 people, marking one of the largest one-day increases during the pandemic.
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