HOW WE REPORT ON CORONAVIRUS NUMBERS

Confirmed case data only provides a snapshot of the coronavirus outbreak and shouldn’t be taken as an accurate reflection of how many people are currently infected.

Laboratories are required to report positive COVID-19 test results to local health departments, such as the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Health Department, as soon as results are available in order to support a rapid response. The Tennessee Department of Health and other state department numbers are updated at set times during the day, so there may be a lag in the reporting of state level data.

It’s impossible to know how many COVID-19 tests are pending, since both public and private labs are used for testing, and providers do not report when a sample is collected. Negative results are sometimes available depending on the agency and its method of tracking COVID-19.

The Times Free Press uses numbers from credible county, state, national and international public health agency sources in our coverage of coronavirus and other infectious diseases. The newspaper also may report on COVID-19 cases that the newspaper has independently verified in an effort to keep our readers as informed as possible. All data are subject to variations and changes based on access, availability, methods and other factors that can affect data collection, making health data rarely perfect.

For more up-to-date information, visit timesfreepress.com/cases.