The Tennessee Department of Health released new COVID-19 case counts on Thursday at 2 p.m. and Tennessee now reports 14,096 (158 more than the previous day). Our state has now experienced 237 deaths. That’s two less than yesterday. According to state officials, two individuals counted yesterday were out-of-state residents hospitalized in Tennessee. Today’s numbers represent an adjusted count.

According to the state, 6,783 COVID-19 patients have recovered. That’s around 48 percent of reported cases. As of today, 236,328 of Tennessee’s 6.8 million residents have been tested. Here’s the top six things you need to know for today:

1 | Bedford County continues to be a regional hotspot. The regional counts as of today are as follows: Moore County (3), Bedford County (217), Coffee County (47), Franklin County (37), and Lincoln County (16).

2 |Mass prison population testing began this week. On May 5, The New York Times stared that Trousdale County in Tennessee reported the highest infection rate per capita in the U.S. As of last week, more than half of the inmates and staff at Trousdale Turner Correctional Center tested positive for the virus. Last Friday, Governor Bill Lee’s Unified Command Group announced that a mass COVID-19 testing initiative would begin this week.

3 | Tennessee men diagnosed with COVID-19 more that women. Men continue to get positive COVID-19 diagnosis in the state of Tennessee more than women. Of the known cases, 52 percent (or 7,286) are male and 42 percent (or 5,857) are female.

4 | Governor extends okay for virtual public meetings. On Wednesday, Governor Bill Lee issued Executive Order 34, which allows local governing bodies to continue to meet virtually without risking a opening meetings law violation. He originally issued the safeguards on March 20 and they are now extended through June 30.

5 | Tennesseans can now get free masks. This week the state began distributing free masks through local health departments in all 95 counties. The Moore County Health Department is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays.

6 | New unemployment claims numbers jump again. According to the state, 37,000 more new unemployment claims were filed for the week ending May 2. They are part of the 3.2 million claims reported across the U.S. last wek. That brings the state total to over 474,000 over the last seven week period and the U.S. total to more than 33 million. That’s roughly 25 percent of working aged adults.

{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.}