COVID-19 Deaths Rise By 35 Over the Weekend
New virus case numbers rose by 778 over the last 24 hours. The new total puts the total of all positive cases in Shelby County since March at 61,429.
Total current active cases of the virus — the number of people known to have COVID-19 in the county — rose to a record 6,432. The figure had been as low as 1,299 in September and rose above 2,000 only in October. The new active case count represents 10.5 percent of all cases of the virus reported here since March.
The Shelby County Health Department reported 19,099 tests have been given here since Friday morning. Total tests given here since March now total 780,968 This figure includes multiple tests given to some people.
Area hospitals continued to strain with high patient numbers. As of Sunday, there were 2,113 patients in acute-care beds here, putting occupancy rates at 92 percent, according to the latest data from the health department. Of those patients, 381 were COVID-positive. Only 193 acute-care beds were available Sunday morning. Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds were 93 percent full with only 33 beds available. Of the 410 patients in ICU beds now, 167 were COVID-positive.
The latest weekly positivity rate rose slightly. The average positive of test results for the week of December 6th was 12.4 percent, down from the 12.1 percent rate recorded for the week of November 29th.
Thirty-five new deaths were recorded since Friday morning and the number now stands at 818. The average age of those who have died in Shelby County is 74, according to the health department. The age of the youngest COVID-19 death was 13. The oldest person to die from the virus was 101.
