COVID -19 continues to worsen in the southern United States. Tennessee now has more people infected than at any other time in the pandemic.
New data from the state health department showed nearly 90,000 active cases — meaning roughly 1 in 75 people are currently infectious.
"I'm afraid cases are continuing to creep up," said Dr. William Schaffner of Vanderbilt University Medical Center. "We're seeing not only more people in hospitals and intensive care units, but we're seeing more children being admitted to our pediatric hospitals."
On Tuesday, the Tennessee Department of Health reported nearly 3,700 people were being treated for COVID-19 in the state's hospitals. At least 67 children are currently hospitalized because of the virus.Local health leaders have stressed they're unsure when those numbers will begin to decline.
"At this point, to be quite frank, we really don't know how high that number's going to go," University of Tennessee Medical Center's Dr. James Shamiyeh said on Thursday. "The situation is accelerating and we are becoming increasingly concerned."
