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BY NIC MILLER
STAR STAFF
nic.miller@elizabethton.com

The Tennessee Department of Health reported three deaths and 223 new cases of COVID-19 in the Northeast Tennessee region on Friday.

Northeast Tennessee reported 1,871 new cases as well as 38 new deaths during the prior seven days.

Those totals showed a slight decrease from the previous seven-day period, which included 2,652 new cases and 43 deaths.

Among Friday’s update, Sullivan County reported 79 cases; Washington County, 42; Greene County, 39;  and Carter County, 26. Hawkins County had 21 new cases while Johnson and Unicoi counties stayed in single digits with nine and eight new cases respectively.

Two deaths were reported in Sullivan County and one in  Washington County.

Vaccination rates in the area increased by 40 percent, with 10,621 new vaccinations over the seven-day period.

As of Friday, around 225,800 people, or almost 45 percent of residents within Northeast Tennessee have received a COVID-19 vaccination.

Washington leads the region with over 53 percent of the population vaccinated; Sullivan is 47 percent; Unicoi County, 46 percent; Greene County, 41 percent; Hawkins County, 38 percent; Carter County, 34 percent; and Johnson County, 33 percent.

Since the pandemic began, Northeast Tennessee has recorded 85,027 cases and 1,379 deaths, while Carter County has had 10,063 cases and 203 deaths.