The Tennessee Department of Health released new COVID-19 case counts on Friday at 2 p.m. and Tennessee now reports 15,544 confirmed cases (271 more than the previous day). Our state has now experienced 290 deaths. That’s three more than yesterday. According to the state, 9,280 COVID-19 patients have recovered. That’s around 52 percent of reported cases. As of today, 309,756 of Tennessee’s 6.8 million residents have been tested. Here’s the top four things you need to know for today:

1|Weekly numbers show moderate increases. This week (from Saturday to Friday) 2,529 more Tennesseans tested positive for COVID-19. That’s a 17 percent increase from last Friday’s total. According to state reports, 66,178 more people were tested. That’s a 28 percent increase from last Friday. Forty nine more Tennesseans died this week from COVID-19 related illness.

2|Tennessee continues to test aggressively. According to a state-by-state analysis conducted by NPR, Tennessee continues to stand out nationally for its “when in doubt get a test” mentality … even if someone is symptom-free. According to the report, Tennessee can test everyone who wants a test because the state’s paying for it … they aren’t relying on federal dollars.

3|Weekend testing stopped. There are no weekend testing sites planned for this weekend. State official originally planned weekend tests for April 24-25, May 2-3, and May 9-10.

4|Fourth Tennessee inmate dies of COVID-19. On Friday, the Tennessee Department of Corrections announced that a 71-year old inmate at Trousdale Turner Correctional Center had died … making him the fourth state prisoner to die from COVID-related illness.

{The Lynchburg Times is an independently owned and operated newspaper that publishes new stories every morning. Covering Metro Moore County government, Jack Daniel’s Distillery, Nearest Green Distillery, Tims Ford State Park, Motlow State Community College, Moore County High School, Moore County Middle School, Lynchburg Elementary, Raider Sports, plus regional and state news.}