MEMPHIS, Tennessee — UPDATE 1/20/2021 - From the Shelby County Health Department:
Health Directive No. 17, which goes into effect on January 23, 2021 at 12:01 a.m.
- Lifts the more restrictive measures of the “Safer at Home” Health Directive No. 16 and returns to safety measures found in Health Directives 14 and 15.
- Focuses on personal responsibility as the measure of how COVID-19 will ultimately impact Shelby County and surrounding communities.
- Nothing is closed per se. Certain businesses that have more interaction with the public have additional, specific safety measures.
- Organizers/businesses that want to submit a proposal for a specific event or wish to expand their operations in a manner that is not already addressed in the Health Directive, should submit a plan through the online portal: https://apps.shelbycountytn.gov/CovidResponseRequest/.
- Schools are strongly encouraged to suspend all school-related close-contact sports at this time.
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1/19/2021 - As Shelby County health leaders announced promising stabilizing or decreasing COVID-19 trends locally, Shelby County Health Officer Dr. Bruce Randolph will scale back certain restrictions in the next health directive.
Dr. Randolph said he'll release health directive no. 17 in full Wednesday before it takes effect Saturday. It replaces a more strict health directive no. 16 that's been in place since December 26th, when cases and hospitalizations were surging during the holiday season.
Dr. Randolph previewed some of the major changes of the next directive, along with current restrictions that will remain in place.
Among the changes:
- Indoor dining capacity will be increased from 25% to 50%, but masks are still required unless you are eating and drinking.
- There's still a limit for seating at a table to six people, tables must be six feet apart, and no one can stay longer than two hours at a time.
- Restaurants must still close at 10 p.m. each night, curbside takeout still encouraged.
- Live entertainment is permitted but performers must be 18 feet apart, and band members must be separated by six feet.
- Indoor dancing is still not allowed and outdoor dancing is allowed if it's members of same household six feet apart.
- Smoking indoors remains prohibited as well as vaping and hookah use.
In response, the Memphis Restaurant Association posted on its Facebook page: "Things are looking just a little bit brighter."
A look at COVID-19 numbers in Memphis and Shelby County for January 19th
