THAT’S ALARMING

Tennessee’s COVID-19 Hospitalizations Up 30% in One Week

There were 400 coronavirus patients in hospitals last week. That number could be 1,000 by the end of July, researchers say.

Tennessee saw an alarming spike in coronavirus-related hospitalizations last week, according to a new report from Vanderbilt University that warns the situation could get significantly worse. There were about 400 COVID-19 patients in hospitals between June 7 and June 13, an increase of 30 percent over the previous week, the Commercial Appeal reports. The researchers said the viral replication rate is 1.13, which indicates it’s spreading and that 1,000 people could be hospitalized by late July if that doesn’t change. Some Tennessee officials have blamed the state’s spike in cases on increased testing, but the hospitalization rate suggests that is not the case.