COVID-19 is a new strain of coronavirus and cases are spreading around the Mid-South since the virus arrived in the United States in February.
At Local 24, our coverage of the coronavirus is rooted in Facts, not Fear. Visit our coronavirus section for comprehensive coverage, find out what you need to know about COVID-19, learn more about the symptoms, and keep tabs on the cases around the world here.
We will continue to track the most important coronavirus elements relating to Memphis and the Mid-South on this page. Refresh often for new information
LIVE UPDATES
Lawmaker: State wants to provide masks for all Tennesseans
(WBIR) - In a conference call with lawmakers on Wednesday, Gov. Bill Lee said the state wanted to provide a cloth mask for every Tennessee resident.
Sen. Richard Briggs of Knoxville was on the call and shared the news with WBIR.
The state has ordered five million cloth masks to distribute to state residents, though no details of when and how they would be handed out have been released.
The masks would be the kind that can be washed and re-used multiple times.
The population of Tennessee does exceed five million. According to the U.S. Census, the state had an estimated popluaton of 6,829,174 in 2019.
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Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee gives daily update on COVID-19 response in the state
3:00 p.m. - Watch HERE.
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Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves gives daily update on COVID-19 response in the state
2:30 p.m. - Watch HERE.
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Mississippi reports nearly 4900 cases & 200 deaths
2:10 p.m. - The Mississippi State Department of Health reports 178 new confirmed cases and 10 new deaths, for a total of 4,894 cases and 193 deaths in the state.
The department says Desoto County has 244 confirmed cases and 3 deaths.
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Tennessee reports 7,842 confirmed cases, 166 deaths total in the state
2:00 p.m. - The Tennessee Department of Health reports there are now 7,842 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state, and 166 deaths.
114,980 people have been tested across Tennessee. There have been 775 hospitalizations and 4,012 have recovered.
(TN GOV. OFFICE NEWS RELEASE) - Unified-Command Releases New Data, Special Report on Nursing Homes
Today, Tennessee’s COVID-19 Unified-Command Group released new data on COVID-19 in the state’s long-term care facilities and outlined its action plan on how to prevent further cases and mitigate existing clusters within these facilities. Starting today, the Tennessee Department of Health will report the number of confirmed cases and COVID-19-related fatalities in all long-term care facilities across the state. The Department’s website will be updated every Friday at 2 p.m. CDT to provide this data.
“This data and report give a clear picture on the risks that the virus poses to long-term care facilities and the aggressive actions the state and has taken and will continue to take to protect residents and staff,” said Tennessee Department of Health Commissioner Dr. Lisa Piercey. “We take our duties to protect both public health and patient privacy very seriously. Based upon the current development of the COVID-19 situation in Tennessee, the Department has determined that releasing this data is in the public health interest. Unified-Command stands at the ready to assist long-term care facilities in mitigating outbreaks amongst residents and staff.”
Department of Health Action Plan for Long Term Care Facilities
The Department of Health provides detailed plans in the attached report on how they work with long-term care facilities to protect residents and staff from COVID-19 and mitigate outbreaks. The action plans include:
- Immediate notification of public health department of a suspected or confirmed COVID-19 cases in residents or staff;
- Immediate facility notification of residents and their representatives of suspected or confirmed COVID-19 cases inside the facility;
- Robust and swift information gathering by Department staff in concert with the facility to determine:
- Personal protective equipment and environmental cleaning needs;
- The need for targeted or widespread testing of residents and staff;
- Whether positive residents can cohort within the facility or must be relocated to hospitals for greater medical care
- Ongoing investigation and contact tracing by Department staff, facility cleaning, and daily situation updates with the facility to ensure the facility is safe for residents and staff.
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Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson gives daily update on COVID-19 response in the state
1:30 p.m. - Watch HERE.
(KTHV) - As of Wednesday afternoon, the Arkansas Department of Health has confirmed 2,276 positive COVID-19 cases throughout the state.
On Tuesday, Gov. Hutchinson said the numbers of positive cases increased by 304 within the last 24 hours. Out of the 304 new positive cases, 262 cases are out of Cummins Prison.
Key facts to know:
- 2,276 confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 in Arkansas
- 27,204 total tests
- 25,214 negative test results
- 42 reported deaths
- 809 recoveries
- All Arkansas schools are closed for the remainder of the school year
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West Memphis Schools cancels meal distributions effective immediately
12:40 p.m. - Effective Wednesday, April 22, West Memphis School District will cancel all meal distribution until further notice. No meals will be distributed today April 22, 2020. An individual involved with the distribution has notified WMSD they tested positive for COVID-19 on April 22nd. We regret to make this decision, but the health and safety of our staff, students, and community is of greatest importance.
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Memphis & Shelby County COVID-19 Joint Task Force update
12:00 p.m. - Memphis & Shelby County COVID-19 Joint Task Force update with Mayor Jim Strickland and the Shelby County Health Department.
Wednesday, Mayor Strickland said he anticipates the Safer at Home order for the city of Memphis will be in place beyond May 5th in some form. He said certain things could be reopened, if data in new cases or if still to be determined criteria are met.
Mayor Strickland extended the city’s Safer at Home order another two weeks Tuesday. The modified order asks certain stores set boundaries between customers and strongly recommends people wear masks in public.
Mayor Strickland's tweaks to new Safer at Home Order through May 5th:
- Protocols at retailers and grocery stores:
- Limiting number of people inside so social distancing can be followed
- Establishing waiting lines inside and outside store with six-foot increments
- Providing hand sanitizer at entrances
- Requiring employees wear facial coverings around public
- Specific time slots for those with health conditions, those pregnant and the elderly
- Those out in public are strongly recommended to wear facial coverings
- Fully automated car washes will be allowed to operate but vacuums must be closed
- Five city of Memphis public golf courses will be allowed to operate beginning this weekend but must follow social distancing rules:
- Links at Galloway, Links at Audubon, the Links at Fox Meadows, the Links at Pine Hill, and the Links at Whitehaven, which opened this past weekend as trial run
- Links at Overton Park, the Links at Riverside, and the Links at Davy Crockett will remain CLOSED for the time being.
We also learned teams from the Tennessee Department of Health will arrive Thursday to help Shelby County Health Department teams oversee ongoing investigations at the nearly dozen assisted living facilities or group homes with a cluster of COVID-19 cases among residents and staff.
Local 24 News reporter Brad Broders will recap additional new details he just learned at the daily briefing in a live report at 5. Follow Brad’s live tweets of the briefing @Local24Brad.
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10 Shelby County assisted living/group homes have at least one COVID-19 case
10:45 a.m. - 10 assisted living facilities or group homes in Shelby County now have reported at least one COVID-19 case among a resident or staff member.
New data provided by the Shelby County Health Department Wednesday showed a total of 67 residents have now tested positive for COVID-19, along with 29 staff members and 10 deaths.
One death was reported Wednesday at Parkway Health & Rehabilitation Center in south Memphis. One other death was previously reported at King’s Daughters and Sons Home in Bartlett, in addition to four deaths each at both Carriage Court in east Memphis and The Village at Germantown.
The other facilities impacted with COVID-19 cases are: Christian Care Center of Memphis, Heritage at Irene Woods, Hancock Group Home, Grace Healthcare of Cordova, Egypt Central Group Home, and Sycamore Health.
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Shelby County reports 37 new confirmed cases, and two new deaths
10:00 a.m. - The Shelby County Health Department reports there are currently 1894 confirmed COVID-19 cases, up from 1857 Tuesday. The total number of deaths in Shelby County attributed to COVID-19 to 41, up from 39 Tuesday.
20,315 people have been tested in the county.
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Arkansas reports more than 2,200 positive cases in state
(KTHV) - As of 9:30 p.m. on Tuesday, the Arkansas Department of Health has confirmed 2,262 positive COVID-19 cases throughout the state.
Gov. Hutchinson said Arkansas is doing well on the numbers of people being tested per capita, as compared to other states. He said the testing goal for Arkansas is to expand from just contact tracing testing to surveillance testing.
There are approximately 600 positive COVID-19 cases at Cummins prison.
Key facts to know:
- 2,262 confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 in Arkansas
- 27,204 total tests
- 25,214 negative test results
- 43 reported deaths
- 809 recoveries
- All Arkansas schools are closed for the remainder of the school year
- Crittenden County has 147 cases; 5 deaths
- Cross County has 9 cases
- Mississippi County has 9 cases
- Poinsett County has 11 cases
- St. Francis County has 66 cases
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Mid-South Food Bank mobile food pantry locations for Wednesday, April 22
- Memphis, Idlewild Pres. Church 1750 Union Ave. 38104, 9 a.m.
- Memphis, Eastside Community Church, 1503 Colonial 38117, 10 a.m.
- Quitman Cty, MS- 1012 MLK Jr. Drive in Marks 38646, 9:30 a.m.
- Pontotoc Cty, MS- the Agricenter (430 C J Hardin Drive 38863) in Pontotoc 9 a.m.
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Kroger Delta partners with Cherokee Health Systems and Memphis Business Academy to offer free drive-thru COVID-19 testing
Kroger Health is teaming up with Cherokee Health Systems and Memphis Business Academy, 3306 Overton Crossing, to host free COVID-19 drive-thru testing in Frayser starting today, April 22 through Friday, April 24 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Per CDC guidelines, testing will be provided for people with symptoms, healthcare workers and first responders. Symptoms include fever, cough, tiredness and difficulty breathing or shortness of breath.
Those with appointments may enter the testing site at the Memphis Business Academy Parking Lot, Overton Crossing entrance. Everyone who arrives must be in a vehicle and ensure all windows are up when in the testing area with a photo ID ready. Kroger Health Associates will guide patients through the testing process.
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Coronavirus in Context:
The symptoms of coronavirus are similar to the flu or a bad cold. Symptoms include a fever, cough and shortness of breath, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
Most healthy people will have mild symptoms. A study of more than 72,000 patients by the Centers for Disease Control in China showed 80-percent of the cases there were mild.
But infections can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure and even death, according to the World Health Organization. Older people with underlying health conditions are most at risk.
The CDC believes symptoms may appear anywhere from two to 14 days after being exposed.
Lower your risk
- Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
- Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
- Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.
- If you are 60 or over and have an underlying health condition such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes or respiratory illnesses like asthma or COPD, the World Health Organization advises you to try to avoid crowds or places where you might interact with people who are sick.
