MEMPHIS, Tenn. — All I want for Christmas is a COVID-19 mask. But don’t hand it to me. Give us between six and ten feet of social distancing.
It is going to be a Holiday season unlike others. It has been a year unlike others for Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland. He checks the new case COVID list every day.
“I don’t think you can necessarily look at one day or the other,” the Mayor said. “Look at the trend. And the trend over the last 30 days is up. Up in new cases, up in positivity rate, up in hospitalizations. And that’s the one I pay most attention is hospitalizations.”
These aren’t just numbers. People still get this disease. People die. The trouble doesn’t stop there.
People are jobless, and people are losing their homes.
“We’re still not at numbers we were at in July,” he said, “... and that was our worst month. But we are heading that way and the experts worry about Thanksgiving and Christmas.”
A poor city can’t afford to take a kick in the financial teeth. Mayor Strickland said there is a slow recovery - a very slow recovery.
“Most businesses are -quote- opened. I don’t think people feel as comfortable going to the movie theater, or going to different places. The job market is still tough.”
