Hospital Beds Continue to Fill as Cases Surge
New virus case numbers rose by 779 over the last 24 hours, one of the highest single-day increases on record. The new total puts the total of all positive cases in Shelby County since March at 57,599.
Total current active cases of the virus — the number of people known to have COVID-19 in the county — rose to 5,512. There were 3,311 active cases on Friday morning. 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 9.6 percent of all cases of the virus reported here since March.
The Shelby County Health Department reported6,849 tests were given in the last 24 hours. Total tests given here since March now total 748,856. This figure includes multiple tests given to some people.
Area hospitals continued to strain with high patient numbers. As of Wednesday, there were 2,239 patients in acute care beds here, putting occupancy rates at 95 percent, according to the latest data from the health department. Of those patients, 378 were COVID-positive. Only 112 acute care beds were available Wednesday morning. Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds were 98 percent full with only 11 beds available. Of the 436 patients in ICU beds now, 161 were COVID-positive.
The latest weekly positivity rate fell slightly one week after a record high. The average positive of test results for the week of November 29th was 12.1 percent. That’s down from the record 13 percent for the week of November 22nd. Nine new deaths were recorded in the last 24 hours and the number now stands at 752. The average age of those who have died in Shelby County is 73, 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.
There are 8,376 contacts in quarantine.
