The Shelby County Health Department reported 754 new COVID-19 cases and 21 virus-related deaths in its update Saturday, Dec. 19.

The 754 coronavirus cases reported came from 10,360 test results, yielding an 7.3% positivity rate. Test results, however, are not reflective of the previous 24-hour period and include tests over multiple days.

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The 21 deaths reported Saturday range from Nov. 11 to Dec. 15, according to the Health Department. This follows the 23 deaths reported Friday. With the 44 new deaths in the past two days, Shelby County has surpassed the 800 mark. 

Since March, the Health Department has reported 60,141 total coronavirus cases and 804 deaths, classifying 53,097 cases as inactive/recovered.

Active cases in Shelby County stand at 6,240, an increase of five from the 6,049 reported Friday.

Since March, a total of 772,229 coronavirus tests have been performed in Shelby County, yielding an 9% positivity rate.

There were 557 COVID-19 patients in Memphis-area hospitals as of 5 p.m. Thursday, the latest data available, according to Tennessee’s Healthcare Resource Tracking System. The Health Department will provide information on hospital capacity from Friday through Sunday in its Monday update.

The 557 pandemic-related admissions is a new high in the COVID-19 pandemic. Of the 557 people hospitalized, 163 are in intensive care unit beds, with 394 in acute care beds.

Hospital capacity for ICU beds is at 96% use, and acute care beds are at 93% occupancy.

Those who are COVID-positive or suspected of having the virus represent 40% of ICU patients and 21% of acute care patients.