LOCAL NEWS — Moore County reported 144 new COVID 19 cases from January 9 through 15, according to the latest Tennessee Department of Health number release on Wednesday. As we reported last Thursday, Moore County reported 98 new COVID-19 cases in the previous seven day period from January 2-8. {To read that article, click here.}

According to Director of Schools Chad Moorehead, the Moore County School System reported 81 total COVID-related absences on Thursday. During the January 10 Metro School Board meeting, Director Moorehead reported that there were 32 new cases. Those numbers include all cases from students, teachers, faculty, and staff.

In early January, the state reported that they no longer intended to report daily COVID number. Instead new numbers are released each Wednesday for the Sunday to Saturday seven day period from the previous week..

Prior to the January 9, there were 1625 total cases to date in Moore County and as of January 15, there have now been 1769 total cases including 32 deaths. According to the latest numbers, there are now 238 active cases in Moore County. There are also 1,531 inactive and/or recovered cases.

Haywood County (Brownsville) near Jackson reported the highest number of new cases. According to The New York Times, they’ve added 415 total cases or 59 new cases per day from January 9-15. According to the latest state data there are now 1,900 active case in a Haywood County with a population of around 17,000. For comparison, Moore County reported 20 new cases per day in the past seven days reporting period. Grundy County reported the highest regional number of daily new cases with 146 total new cases and 21 cases per day in the most recent seven day reporting period.

Madison County (Jackson) in West Tennessee reported the highest infection rate in the state with a 1.40 rate. This mean that every person infected in Madison County’s infects more than one additional person. For comparison, Moore County’s infection rate is .88 for the most recent seven day period. Any infection rate less than one is considered good. Franklin County reports the highest regional infection rate at 1.10.

Pickett County (Byrdstown) near the Tennessee, Kentucky state line reported the highest positive test rate. Three out of every four person test last week in Byrdstown came back positive. For comparison, Moore County had the highest regional test rate at 46.7 meaning that just a little under two out of every four people test in Moore County’s come back possible. This statistic does not include rapid tests taken at home. •

{The Lynchburg Times is the only locally-owned newspaper in Lynchburg and also the only woman-owned newspaper in Tennessee. We cover 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.}