By Michelle Price
Special to the UCBJ
NASHVILLE – As the Tennessee Department of Health (TDOH) released the COVID-19 testing numbers today, the numbers revealed that while the Upper Cumberland region as a whole has a significantly smaller percentage testing positive for the virus, Putnam County is 26.8% higher than the statewide average. However, no new positive tests were reported today.
Today was the first time that TDOH released county numbers showing both the number of positive and negative test results.
Statewide 27,360 tests have been performed, with 2,239 or 8.2% testing positive. In the U.C., there have been 1,027 tests performed with only 53 or 5.2% testing positive.
Putnam County remains at 24 positive tests, but we now know that 207 of the 231 have tested negative, with a 10.4% positive rate, making Putnam one of 13 counties with positive rates higher than 10%. No other county in the region has results that match or exceed the state rate.
In comparison, other notable counties across the state have significantly lower rates of positive tests, including Bradley with 10 of 119 tests positive (8.4%), Madison with 5 of 136 tests positive (3.7%), Maury with 15 of 389 tests positive (3.9%), Montgomery with 19 of 399 tests positive (4.8%) and Rutherford with 68 of 885 tests positive (7.7%). The Putnam results are more consistent with more heavily populated Williamson, which has 131 of 1228 positive tests (10.7%).
The U.C. only gained three positive test results since Monday, adding one in each of Cannon, Macon and Smith counties.
The totals for each county are now Cannon two, Cumberland 11, DeKalb four, Fentress one, Macon one, Overton two, Putnam 24, Smith one, Warren one and White one.
There are now 175 hospitalized statewide, including four at Cookeville Regional Medical Center, and deaths related to COVID-19 now total 23 statewide.
Testing is now available in every county in the U.C. and an article with testing information is available here.
Statewide coronavirus numbers can be found here. The statewide numbers for positive tests will be updated daily at 2 p.m. A map with more detailed information is available here.
