Putnam Reports 46 Additional Positives

Putnam County saw a 19 percent increase in COVID-19 cases Tuesday with 46 additional cases.

The uptick could be a data reporting issue. Nashville’s Health Department reported Tuesday that one of the companies conducting COVID-19 tests could not report its results electronically this weekend. That caused a spike in Nashville’s numbers Tuesday.

County Mayor Randy Porter said the increase could also simply be an increase in testing. Porter said the Health Department has averaged better than 200 tests per day over the last several days.

“Everyone that’s going for any kind of procedure, whether it be here at Cookeville or they’re having to go to Nashville, they’re having to get a test before they can have that procedure or surgery done, so they’re all going to our health department cause it’s free,” Porter said.

Putnam County has tested more than 3,300 people for COVID-19. Only 14 counties in the state have tested more people. Most of those counties are the metro counties surrounding the state’s biggest cities.

Porter said many residents who have recently tested positive have been surprised about the results. He said some husbands and wives have reported mixed results where one spouse tests positive and the other negative.

Overall, 636 Upper Cumberland residents have tested positive as of Tuesday’s reporting.

Tuesday Upper Cumberland COVID-19 Cases