KNOX COUNTY, Tenn. — On March 12, Dr. Martha Buchanan gathered reporters for the second briefing that day. She had an announcement: Knox County was reporting its first presumptive case of COVID-19.
"We don't have community transmission at this point," she said. "It takes all of us to prevent illness."
Six months and more than 8,000 cases later, that's the same message coming from the Knox County Health Department.
"The only way to move forward and see progress is if everyone works together in practicing the five core actions consistently," said Dr. Buchanan. "Anyone can have complications from COVID-19. We all need to do our part as a community to reduce spread and reduce risk."
In six months, the health department has reported at least 304 hospitalizations of people who live within the county limits. As of Sept. 12, at least 41 of them were current.
The county health department has reported 67 deaths — nearly all in July, August and September.
The recent surge in cases has been mainly driven by those in the 11-20 and 21-30 age groups.
"It’s important, no matter your age, to practice the five core actions," said Dr. Buchanan. "COVID-19 is very serious. We’ve had deaths, we’ve had hospitalizations."
According to the Tennessee Department of Health, there have been 149 hospitalizations and one death attributed to COVID-19 among Tennesseans in the 11-20 age group.
There have been 411 hospitalizations and 20 deaths among those in the 21-30 age group, per TDH.
The University of Tennessee has reported roughly 1,100 cases since June 8. While not all of those are included in the Knox County totals, the health department said a good number of them are.