Mayor John Cooper opened a press conference Tuesday morning with the news that three more fatalities have occurred since yesterday in Nashville as a result of COVID-19. The three Nashvillians who died — all men, ages 62, 72 and 78 — bring the total number of deaths in Davidson County to nine.
During the conference, Cooper and Coronavirus Response Taskforce director Dr. Alex Jahangir revealed a COVID-19 "heatmap" representing the total number of confirmed cases reported to the Metro Public Health Department. The map — which was created using the most current data as of April 6 — shows pockets of cases throughout the city, with the most density in heavily populated areas. Jahangir pointed out that the data represents where patients who have contracted COVID-19 live, not necessarily where they contracted the virus.
Particularly hard-hit areas in the city appear to be in and around the 37212 and 37203 ZIP codes, where the Belmont University and Vanderbilt University campuses are situated, along with the Edgehill neighborhood. Also showing a high number of cases is the 37013 ZIP Code, which contains Antioch. Metro intends to update the heatmap with new data once a week.
"Social distancing and staying at home are truly the best weapons to fight this virus," said Jahangir. "We all must do it. ... Spread the word, not the virus."
Cooper and Jahangir encouraged Nashvillians to continue wearing protective face masks — homemade or otherwise — when performing essential errands in public spaces like grocery stores and pharmacies. The mayor noted that the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Nashville is now at 1,075, with 51 patients currently being treated for the virus in Nashville hospitals.
Metro's COVID-19 heatmap can be seen as a PDF here, and is also embedded below.
