COVID-19 spike raises concerns for health officials

JACKSON, Tenn. — After several days of low COVID-19 numbers, the Jackson-Madison County Health Department confirmed 45 new cases Wednesday morning.

Health Department Regional Director Kim Tedford says she believes those low numbers over the last few days are due to a combination of decreased testing and people going out of town for fall break.

However, Tedford says those new positive cases that the health department has confirmed are still coming from several different locations.

“Most of the cases are household contacts, just out in the community. We’re still seeing some positives from colleges, some travel-related, some gatherings. It’s just widespread,” she said.

Hospital officials say they are concerned that the area may see a spike hospitalizations in the future.

“My concern is that since we kind of lagged behind that peak earlier in the year. I’m concerned that we might see a peak or a spike in hospitalizations a few weeks from now,” said West Tennessee Healthcare Chief Compliance and Communication Officer Amy Garner.

“We were doing really good while those larger metropolitan areas were not. Well, it eventually made its way to us, and then in July and early August you saw our numbers skyrocket. We do not want to have a repeat of that,” Tedford said.

Tedford says if you’re traveling and start showing symptoms, you still need to isolate. You can drive home to isolate, away from family members who are negative for COVID-19.