Positivity Rate Falls for Fifth Straight Week
New virus case numbers rose by 213 over the last 24 hours. The new cases put the total of all positive cases in Shelby County since March at 85,807.
Total current active cases of the virus — the number of people known to have COVID-19 in the county — fell to 2,821, continuing what has become a daily slide in the figure. The number reached a record high of more than 8,000 in late December. 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 3.3 percent of all cases of the virus reported here since March.
In Shelby County, 91,881 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been given. As of Friday morning, 24,650 people had been given two doses for full vaccination, and 67,231 had been given a single dose.
The Shelby County Health Department reported that 3,835 tests have been given here in the last 24 hours. Since March, 990,036 tests have been given. This figure includes multiple tests given to some people.
The latest weekly positivity rate fell again for the fifth week in a row to 7.4 percent. That’s down from the 9.4 percent rate recorded in the previous week, and down from the record-high 17.5 percent in late December.
Eighteen new deaths were reported over the last 24 hours, though those deaths may not have all occurred within the last day. Reports come from many agencies and aren’t all reported on the day of the death. The total death toll now stands at 1,424.
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 103.
