It was a brutal three months in Northeast Tennessee: Between Nov. 1 and Jan. 31, COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations and deaths soared to record highs, infecting more than 32,000 and killing 636. Now, local health experts are cautiously optimistic weâve seen the worst of the pandemic â that after nearly a year of battling the virus, this is the beginning of the end. Though the curve of new cases has fluctuated wildly from month to month over the past 11 months, this time feels different. Over the past seven weeks, the regionâs seven-day average of new cases has experience a steep and rapid decline â tumbling from 456.2 on Jan. 7 to 83.6 as of Saturday, bringing Northeast Tennessee more in line with averages reported in early October.