There are nearly 14-hundred new coronavirus cases in Tennessee. The Tennessee Department of Health reported the new cases yesterday, bringing the total since the outbreak began to over one-million-354-thousand. Nearly 30 additional COVID-19-related deaths were also reported, with the total number standing at over 18-thousand. There are more than eleven hundred COVID-19 hospitalizations in Tennessee.
Officials at Tennessee’s largest airport say they’re expecting two times more passengers during this year’s Christmas travel period compared to the same time last year. That’s about 25-thousand to 30-thousand people per day who are expected to travel through Nashville International Airport until the end of the year. Nationally, Triple-A says about 100-million people are expected to travel this week.
One person is dead, and another is recovering from injuries following a shooting yesterday afternoon in Clarksville. According to reports, officers were called to a welfare check off Ringgold Road around 5 p.m. and found a male and female victim suffering from gunshot wounds. The woman was pronounced dead at the scene, and the man was taken by helicopter to VUMC. Police are investigating the shooting, which they say appears to be an isolated incident.
Tennessee officially has a new record for rainfall in a 24-hour period. The State Climate Extremes Committee and the National Weather Service confirmed yesterday that nearly 21 inches of rain fell in McEwen at the Tennessee Wastewater Treatment Plant on August 21st. Over 17 inches were recorded at the Tennessee Valley Authority rain gauge in McEwen on the same day, marking the second-highest record. The previous record of nearly 14 inches was set on September 13th, 1982 in Milan, Tennessee.
It should be smooth sailing for Tennesseans taking to the road this holiday. The Department of Transportation is stopping all lane closures on interstates and state highways as a high volume of traffic is expected statewide. There are some long-term closures that will remain but all construction-related closures will be suspended over the holiday weekend. There are some construction zones with workers still on site so drivers should use caution and obey the posted speed limits in those areas.
