MEMPHIS, Tenn. — UPDATE 3/24/2020 - The City of Memphis says there are now 135 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Shelby County, as of Tuesday morning.
The Tennessee Department of Health now reports a total of 667 cases in the state, with two deaths.
The city has also set up a new web page with more on COVID-19 in Memphis. You can find it HERE.
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3/23/2020 - 3:30 p.m. - The Tennessee Department of Health now reports 93 cases of COVID-19 in Shelby County.
It says there are 615 positive cases in the state.
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11:00 a.m. The Shelby County Health Department now says there are 84 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the county, as of Monday morning.
The health department says there are 505 confirmed cases in the state of Tennessee as of Sunday afternoon.
According to a release from the Shelby County Health Department Sunday morning, 103 people are being monitored in the county. They say 46 county residents have been approved for testing by the state lab.
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3/22/2020 - The Shelby County Health Department now says there are 66 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the county, as of 2:00 p.m. Sunday afternoon.
The health department says there are 505 confirmed cases in the state of Tennessee.
According to a release from the Shelby County Health Department Sunday morning, 114 people are being monitored in the county. They say 50 county residents have been approved for testing by the state lab.
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3/21/2020 - The Shelby County Health Department now says there are 42 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the county, as of 10:00 a.m. Saturday morning. That's an additional 12 cases since Friday morning.
The health department says that includes one out-of-state resident who tested positive in Shelby County.
So far, 228 people have tested positive for the coronavirus in the state of Tennessee.
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3/20/20 - The Shelby County Health Department says there are now 30 cases of COVID-19 in the county, as of 2:00 p.m. Friday. That's 20 new cases since Thursday.
Some of these 30 COVID-19 cases in Shelby County are from travel, some are from friends and family and some are from the workplace.
What you should expect is a lot more transmission from social settings. Mayor Harris is seriously considering all options in reducing cases.
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3/19/2020 - (SHELBY COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT NEWS RELEASE) - Shelby County currently has ten (10) confirmed COVID-19 cases. Results on six (6) new cases were reported to the Health Department last night. This increase is not unexpected because commercial laboratories have begun reporting results on tests conducted over the last several days.
While there is still no direct evidence of community transmission of the virus, the rapid increase in cases is suggestive that community transmission may be occurring. Now is the time for strict adherence to the Health Department’s social-distancing recommendations:
Messages for Individuals:
- Avoid handshakes and close contact with others whenever possible.
- Cancel or postpone gatherings of 10 or more people. Instead of visiting friends or relatives, call or video chat.
- Stay at home whenever possible. While Shelby County School students and many others are out of school, keep children home and plan home-based activities.
- Do not go to work or go out in public if you are sick, especially with fever, cough or other respiratory symptoms.
- Re-evaluate travel plans. It is strongly recommended to avoid any unnecessary travel. If traveling overseas, check the CDC’s travel advisory website, which is updated daily: https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel. If traveling within the U.S., avoid destinations where COVID-19 has been reported.
- Avoid non-essential flights. Traveling by private vehicle limits exposure to other people.
- Wash your hands thoroughly and often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Scrub dirt under fingernails with a brush and soap.
- Practice respiratory etiquette by using a tissue if coughing or sneezing, then throwing the tissue away and washing your hands.
- Sanitize surfaces that are frequently touched by many people with anti-bacterial wipes or diluted bleach solution.
Messages for Community/Business Leaders:
- Cancel or postpone meetings and conferences of 10 or more people.
- Consider conducting all conferences and meetings by phone or video chat rather than face-to-face.
- Move desks and office furniture to put at least six feet of distance between employees.
- Businesses that serve the public, including restaurants and retail stores should encourage social distancing by putting space between tables and spacing out check-out lines as much as possible.
- Consider providing delivery or curbside pick-up options to limit interactions in stores and restaurants.
- Encourage and enable employee telecommuting to limit person-to-person interactions as much as possible.
(For the Shelby County Health Department COVID-19 Call Center, Please Dial: 833-943-1658 available to take calls 8:00am-4:30pm, Monday-Sunday)
The Health Department’s COVID-19 webpage also has a new easy-to-remember link: shelbytnhealth.com/coronavirus. The page includes useful information about the virus and links to resources for individuals, families, businesses and faith communities.
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3/18/2020 - Wednesday morning, those with the Shelby County Health Department confirmed a fourth positive Coronavirus case in Shelby County.
Dr. Alisa Haushalter - the Shelby County Health Director - said the person was in contact with someone outside the city.
Tuesday, the county health department announced the third case. They said the person had been traveling extensively through the United States and came into Shelby County the day that person was ill. Right now, it’s unclear whether that person exposed others and is in isolation as those with the Shelby County Health Department pinpoint that person's recent travels.
Health officials also said the third case is not connected to the two previous confirmed Coronavirus cases in Shelby County. They have not said if the fourth case announced Wednesday is connected.
The Shelby County Health Department said Wednesday it averages about 150 calls per day about COVID-19.
As of Wednesday afternoon in Tennessee, the state health department said there were 98 positive Coronavirus cases, with a majority of those cases coming from middle Tennessee: 58 in Davidson County and 24 in Williamson County.
Dr. Haushalter is hopeful the University of Tennessee - in cooperation with the city of Memphis and Shelby County - will be able to offer additional testing to the broader public by the end of the week, for those showing symptoms.
“We are all sensitive to the number of uninsured in our community and looking at ways for people who do not have insurance and may not have the financial resources are able to access testing as well,” Dr. Haushalter said.
Dr. Haushalter told the Shelby County Commission Wednesday morning that the county health department is NOT doing any testing at this time. The Tennessee Health Department is doing testing at all of its offices.
Dr. Alisa Haushalter also told commissioners some experts have said the type of crackdowns going on for Coronavirus could be going on for the next year or more.