Updated 3:20 pm: MNPS announcement & new state figures

Metro Nashville Public Schools Director Dr. Adrienne Battle has announced the beginning of the 2020/21 school year will happen virtually with children engaged in remote learning until at least Labor Day.

Earlier this morning, at the day's COVID-19 press conference, Nashville Mayor John Cooper announced a grim new record with 688 new cases confirmed since yesterday. Like other cities, he said cases are on the rise. "As I have said before, a coordinated effort is the best effort," stated Cooper. He called for a concerted, coordinated effort at a state and federal level, including mask mandates to drive numbers back down and flatten the curve so that communities can reopen safely and get economies back on track.

Cooper also said rates of infection are going up in younger adults and down in older age groups. "Mortality rates among young adults are not as high as among older adults," he pointed out. However, Cooper added, younger people are not immune to serious health consequences or death and can easily spread the disease to other vulnerable populations.

The mayor also said Nashville's median transmission rate is now 1.23. The goal is to be at, or preferably under, 1 in order to be able to adequately trace and control the spread.

Alex Jahangir, MD, MMHC, chairman of Metro Nashville's Board of Health, echoed the mayor's concern and said numbers are trending in the wrong direction. "COVID-19 is not going anywhere if we continue doing what we're doing," he stated flatly, pleading with Nashillians to stay home as much as possible and to absolutely wear a mask if going out.

He added there are currently 188 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Nashville as of this morning, which is an increase of 31 people since Tuesday. He added 22% of ICU beds are still available and 20% of hospital beds. While those numbers are satisfactory, the increasing number of patients in need of hospital care could pose a real threat to capacity.

Metro Nashville

Nashville reports 13,440 cases, a jump of 688 cases in 24 hours ... another unfortunate one-day record. There are currently 4,579 active cases in Nashville (up 418 active cases in a day), 8,729 individuals who have recovered, and 132 deaths (up 8 since yesterday)..

In Davidson County, 116,095 tests have been administered with a positive rate of 11.6% (up from 11.4 yesterday, from 10.7 on July 1 and 9.4 on June 1).

On the trend lines, the transmission rate and 14-day new case trend both remain in the red. Capacities for public health, testing, hospital floor beds and hospital ICU beds remain in the green. However, hospital beds are a lagging indicator and are, therefore, being closely monitored among rising cases.

Masks are required in Nashville, and a number of other surrounding counties have also begun instituting mandatory mask regulations. Additionally, public health officials continue to ask (beg) residents to be vigilant in maintaining social distancing measures, as well as to go out as little as possible, wash hands frequently and stay home if ill.

Tennessee State

Tennessee now has 57,591 cases of COVID-19, according to the latest figures released at 2 pm today. That's a jump of 1,605 since yesterday. Tennessee has recorded 710 deaths (a jump of 25 in 24 hours and 45 over the last 48 hours). There have been 3,088 hospitalizations across Tennessee (up 65 in 24 hours) and 33,609 recovered (an increase of 873 since yesterday). A total of 972,276 Tennesseans have been tested for COVID-19 (an increase of 21,736 since yesterday).

The average age of COVID-positive Tennesseans is 39, significantly lower than what was initially seen in the early days of the pandemic. Despite rising case numbers, statewide death rates remain at 1.2% ... down from 1.3 on July 1 and a death rate of 1.46 the last week of June. The lower death rate is believed to coincide with the decrease in average age of those testing positive. Deaths from the novel coronavirus remain overwhelmingly among those ages 61 and older (583 of the 710 deaths ... or 82% of deaths in the state).