MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (Mike Osborne) — All seven counties in the Greater Nashville region have seen COVID-19 new case counts double, or more, in the past three weeks.
The number of new infections fell steadily for three months. But during the last full week in June, case counts bottomed out and then began to rise again.
The actual number of cases is still small, but the percentage increase is alarming. For example, Davidson County reported 115 new infections three weeks ago. This past week Metro reported 310 cases. That represents an increase of 169 percent.
Williamson County cases double over the same period. Cases in Rutherford County nearly tripled.
The increase is likely due to the growing presence of the Delta variant of the virus here in Tennessee. Delta has been responsible for growing case counts and increased hospitalizations in neighboring Arkansas and Missouri.
Delta variant case counts reported by the Tennessee Department of Health more than quadrupled between June 25 and July 9. There are now at least 12 COVID-19 variants circulating in the state.
