MEMPHIS, Tenn. — UPDATE 9/14/2021 - NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee now ranks first in the country for new COVID-19 cases per capita as the state continues to battle its worst virus surge yet.
According to researchers from Johns Hopkins, as of Tuesday, one in every 81 Tennesseans had tested positive for the virus in the past week.
Meanwhile, the rolling average number of daily new cases over the past two weeks increased by nearly 90% or about 5,600 cases.
The latest milestone is one of several records the state has reached in the past several weeks stemming from a spike in cases and hospitalizations among school-aged children.
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9/3/2021 - We’re number one in a statistic we’d rather not see. Every state in the Mid-South has a high number of COVID-19 cases compared to the rest of the country.
The CDC says that, as of September 2, 2021, Tennessee ranks number one with a 7-day case rate of 790.1 cases for every 100,000 people, more than twice the national average. Mississippi is third with 669.1 cases for every 100,000, and Arkansas ranks 11th with 481.6 cases for every 100,000.
Every state in the U.S. is at a level of “high” community transmission according to this CDC map. The U.S. is averaging a 7-day case rate of 323.1 cases per 100,000, and a 7-day positivity rate of 9.58%. The full list can be seen here.
When it comes to vaccinations, the Mid-South ranks low on the CDC’s charts. Find the full breakdown here.