CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – On the last day of November, the state of Tennessee hit a jarring milestone: the most COVID-19 deaths recorded in one month, with 1,249 Tennesseans losing their lives to the virus.

Compared to the month of October, which saw 899 statewide deaths from COVID-19 and 15 deaths in Montgomery County, November saw 24 lives lost in the county.

Since last week’s report on Nov. 25, Montgomery County has added two more deaths, bringing the total since March 6 to 85 COVID-19 deaths.

This number includes the loss of Montgomery County General Sessions Judge Ray Grimes, who served on the bench for 22 years. Grimes died Thanksgiving morning after being hospitalized for several days with COVID-19. He was 73.

Active case count rising

Additionally, Montgomery County hit another record on its own Monday, Nov. 30, with 935 active cases – the most ever concurrently active. The county also reported an additional 235 new cases Monday, the largest single-day report ever.

While it is likely that today’s count is not representative of the actual volume of positive cases the county tested today, due to system lags and the Thanksgiving holiday last week, the 14-day totals and averages tell a similar story.

According to the Clarksville-Montgomery County COVID-19 Dashboard, over the last 14 days (Nov. 16-29), the county averaged 94.8 new cases reported per day. For the previous 14-day period (Nov. 2-15), the county average was 79.467 new cases reported per day.

Across Tennessee, hospitalizations from COVID-19 are up 56% since Nov. 1, according to metrics on the TN Dept. of Health’s website. As a reminder, Tennova Healthcare Clarksville says that they have plenty capacity to continue treating those with COVID-19 and other patients needing non-COVID-related care.

COVID-19 numbers

Here are the Montgomery County numbers updated on the county’s dashboard for today, Nov. 30:

  • 6,915 total confirmed cases since March 6
  • 935 active cases
  • 164 total hospitalizations
  • 85 total deaths
  • 65,910 total negative lab results

Here are the 14-day trends for the last 28-day period, compiled by Montgomery County’s Director of Health, Joey Smith:

In the last 14 days, Montgomery County has had:
    • 1,187 new cases out of 7,015 tests
    • 7 Hospitalizations
    • 8 COVID-19 Deaths
    • 155 new Schoolage Cases (age 5-18)
In the previous 14 days, Montgomery County had:
    • 1,013 positives out of 7,035 tests.
    • 14 Hospitalizations
    • 14 COVID-19 Deaths
    • 144 new Schoolage Cases (age 5-18)

Here are the numbers from the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System on their respective dashboard, which are trending downward:

  • 16 students with active cases
  • 667 students in quarantine
  • 26 school employees with confirmed cases
  • 39 school employees in quarantine
  • 296 CMCSS employees on COVID-19 related leave

Here are the Austin Peay State University numbers, which are also continuing to decline, according to their dashboard:

  • 17 students with confirmed cases
  • 69 students in quarantine
  • 13 staff and faculty members with confirmed cases
  • 34 staff and faculty members in quarantine

How to get a free COVID-19 test

Free COVID-19 testing is offered by the Montgomery County Health Department in a temporary location at Civitan Park, 650 Bellamy Lane, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday-Friday. Follow the signs to the drive-up testing site.