COVID-19 cases still rising, health officials concerned ahead of school reopening

JACKSON, Tenn. — As of Monday morning, Madison County now has 1,455 total cases of COVID-19.

19 of those positive tests are from the penal farm and annex testing.

Health officials are again asking you not to get tested unless you have symptoms.

“Remember me saying, you can’t test out of quarantine. Once you’ve been exposed to a case, you have to quarantine for 14 days,” said Kim Tedford, regional director of the Jackson Madison County Regional Health Department.

The hospital is back at 100 COVID-19 patients. 33 are in the ICU, and 16 are on ventilators.

Amy Garner with West Tennessee Healthcare says even though they’re seeing more patients from certain counties, they have COVID-19 patients from all counties here in West Tennessee.

“The truth is if everybody would do their part, none of our hospitals would be overrun,” Garner said. “So I just want to plead with everyone that it is really critical that you help slow the spread.”

Schools start back in Jackson-Madison County in just two weeks. Health officials say it’s concerning.

“I would be remiss if I didn’t say all of this back to school stuff is concerning,” Tedford said. “And I don’t know if we as a state are taking the best approach while we have such a high positivity rate.”

But it’s not just elementary schools opening. College students from across the country are also coming back to West Tennessee.

“Close proximity in living conditions in colleges,” Tedford said. “Just the ‘hanging out’ of college students. The large classrooms.”

And Tedford says there’s a list you need to go through each morning before sending your kids off to school: knowing if your child is sick, taking their temperature, recognizing any signs or symptoms, and knowing if anybody in the house has tested positive.

Tedford says the most important thing is if there’s a positive case at a school, get the student out of the classroom and isolate them as quickly as possible.

The UT-TSU Extension Office will be helping hand out free masks again this week. They’ll be at First Presbyterian Church in Jackson Wednesday night from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.