The COVID-19 active case counts continued to drop in DeKalb County last week, though the infection rates are still high. Even with numbers inching down, DeKalb recorded another death from the virus with hospitalizations up as well.

As of September 17 numbers, the county now reports 60 deaths, with 101 hospitalized. DeKalb reports 307 active cases, down from 378 the previous week. The county has 3,885 total cases, with 3,578 recovered or inactive.

In DeKalb Schools the case counts continue downward as well. As of last Friday, the school system reported 27 positive cases, with 123 in quarantine. That’s down from 39 cases last week and 168 in quarantine. DMS has the highest rate with eight positive, with DCHS reporting seven. SES also has seven, while NES has four, and DWS has one.

There are also 13 staff members that are positive or in quarantine. Three at DCHS, two at DMS, and six at SES.

Numbers from surrounding counties are split between lowering case counts and spiking counts. Even with some numbers decreasing, the case counts are still high.

Warren County reports 770 active cases, down from 839 the previous week. They have 7,756 total cases, with 6,986 recovered. The county also reports four new deaths at 96, with hospitalizations up to 135.

Cannon County continues to see a spike in cases with 263, up from 201 the previous week. They surpassed their December 2020 one day case count, with 57 cases on September 10 alone. Cannon reports 2,589 total cases, with 2,326 recovered. The death count in Cannon County remains at 36 with hospitalizations up at 72.

Wilson County’s numbers went down slightly. They report 25,185 total cases with 23,571 recovered. They have 1,614 active cases, down from 1,693. Deaths increased to 301, up from 289, while those hospitalized is also up at 617.

Smith County’s case numbers remained at 295, with 3,860 total cases and 3,565 recovered. They now have 43 deaths attributed to the virus, with hospitalizations up at 98.

Cases in Putnam were on the rise with 1,247 active cases, surpassing its December peak. They report 15,388 total cases with 14,141 recovered. They reported eight more deaths, at 198, with those hospitalized up to 445.

White County is also seeing record numbers far exceeding numbers reported last December and January. They report 5,065 total cases with 4,523 recovered. They currently have 542 active, up from 532 last week. They also report two more deaths from the virus, at 84 with hospitalizations now up to 189.

In Rutherford County, numbers dropped slightly. They report 3,913 cases, down from 4,305, with 57,465 total cases and 53,552 recovered. Deaths are up at 487 with hospitalizations increased to 1,084.

Davidson is also seeing a spike in cases. They reported 1,150 cases on September 10, surpassing the previous one-day total of 1,093 cases on January 5. They currently have 6,255 active cases, with 1,053 deaths and 2,790 hospitalized. Davidson reports 112,529 total cases with 106,274 recovered.

With numbers up in some counties and down in others health officials are implementing a new processes for COVID-19 contact tracing. The Upper Cumberland Regional Health Office is launching a text message COVID-19 case investigation system beginning on Monday, September 13, in conjunction with the Tennessee Department of Health.

Upper Cumberland residents who test positive for COVID-19 through a reportable testing mechanism (PCR or antigen testing) may receive a text message from the Upper Cumberland Regional Health Office asking them to complete their case investigation online.

Individuals who have been tested in Cannon, Clay, Cumberland, Dekalb, Fentress, Jackson, Macon, Overton, Pickett, Putnam, Smith, Van Buren, Warren, and White counties should expect to see this change.

While traditional phone interviews for contact tracing will continue, the text message outreach will accelerate the case investigation process and help provide critical isolation and mitigation resources in an expedited manner.

The survey will also uncover who may have been exposed, so that contact tracers can follow up with those individuals to advise them of the exposure, what symptoms they need to watch for, when to get tested, and how to avoid infecting others. “If you receive a text, we urge you to respond and complete your case investigation information,” said Upper Cumberland Assistant Regional Director Mindy Doyle. “Please do your part to contain the spread of COVID-19 and help our community.”

It’s not too late to get vaccinated. Visit vaccine.gov to see your local Health Department’s most up to date COVID-19 vaccine availability.