Tennessee’s COVID-19 Cases Are Dropping, But There’s Reason For Concern

Tennessee is no longer announcing 10,000 new coronavirus cases a day, as it was before Christmas. But that’s not necessarily reason to think the state has hit a peak.

The positivity rate for new cases announced today was more than 22%. That means nearly one out of every four people tested was positive for the coronavirus. Ten percent is considered the threshold for raising alarms.

Vanderbilt epidemiologist Melissa McPheeters says the high numbers turning out positive suggests many are going without testing.

“I liken it to when you’re fishing in a pond, If you’re catching a whole bunch of fish in one area of the pond, you have to assume there are fish in other parts of the pond too. You wouldn’t assume that you’re just getting all the fish right there.”

Testing at public health departments and primary care offices has been reduced because of the holidays.