I am a huge fan of The Daily Memphian. I think that publication does a better job of delivering the local news which matters to me, in a format that is well-written and not drenched in pop-up ads, videos, annoying GIFs, etc. than any other media source in town. A proud subscriber, I can think of few better uses for 7 bucks a month.
However, I’ve got to take the DM to task on the subject of an email that arrived in my inbox a few minutes after 10 this morning:
BREAKING NEWS: Testing falls dramatically; new cases rise and one additional death reported
Well, that sounds like things are not going well at all, huh? Sounds like we should expect to be in quarantine for a long, long time before we’re even ready for Phase 1 of the joint city and county Back to Business Framework. However, when we dig deeper, we find
- Number of tests went up this weekend because new testing sites were opened, sites which saw long lines.
- Number of tests went up this weekend because tests were administered in clustered areas including the Shelby County Criminal Justice Center (AKA 201), youth facilities, and nursing homes.
- With the weekend over, testing went back to normal as it existed the weekdays of last week. Therefore not as many tests were administered. Testing may have fallen “dramatically” but that was to be expected. In no way is this a sign of inadequate testing capability.
- New cases rise – if even one new case is reported, yes, the case numbers rise. The number of new cases, 38, was very consistent with the number of new cases reported Sunday-Friday of last week, on which days said numbers were considered good news. The 38 represents a growth of 1.64% in all known cases. Earlier in April we were looking at days when the new case number grew by double-digit percentages. (In her daily briefing at the noontime hour, Dr. Haushalter said some of those 38 were from the weekend and weren’t reported until today, so the number of truly “new” cases yesterday is even lower.)
- One additional death reported – this is certainly one more death than any of us prefer. However, one death from COVID-19 in a county of 927,644 (as of the 2010 census; have you filled out your 2020 census yet?) is hardly a cause for panic.
To be fair, the article the email linked to was the usual well-written, accurate coverage I have come to expect from the DM. I just think the headline was a bit clickbaity, more what I’d expect to see from the local TV stations and our daily printed newspaper. Many people did not have time to read past the email subject line and could have been left with the impression that we’re doing a bad job fighting the coronavirus here in Shelby County.
Choose901 has a list of who’s selling face masks in Memphis. Primas Bakery + Boutique in South Main was selling them, but ran out of material; they expect to have more in stock soon. Very cool to see that Moziah Bridges, the mind behind Mo’s Bows, has expanded into the world of masks.
Live at the Garden’s 20th anniversary concert series has been canceled.
Follow @Mandi_Thomas13 on Twitter. She’ll be a contestant on the new season of The Voice starting next Monday, May 4.
Get a family meal for four delivered Downtown:
This week’s @saucychicken901 family meal deal features smoked sausage po’boys with potato salad, baked beans, and pork skins. Available for pick-up or with free delivery Tuesday and Wednesday. Feeds a family of… https://t.co/Yb2OOdOf7b
— Crosstown Concourse (@YourConcourse) April 28, 2020
From Sports 24/7: Precious Achiuwa discusses NBA draft, career at Memphis and best moments
Useful: Use an iPhone to scan your documents into PDF format, without having to install third-party apps:
You learn something new everyday! pic.twitter.com/bqGIiX3D0X
— Mashable (@mashable) April 28, 2020
A $10 donation will send someone on the front lines fighting COVID-19 to a future Memphis Redbirds game.
The Westin Hotel is partnering with local restaurants to make sure guests have a wonderful experience dining in during the quarantine. Partner restaurants include Flight, Gus’s Fried Chicken, Alfred’s, Charlie Vergos’ Rendezvous, Dyer’s Burgers, Pig on Beale, Rum Boogie Café and Spindini. The Westin has an “Ease & Comfort” program to help essential workers recharge, with rates as low as $89 per night.
The Kemmons Wilson School of Hospitality and Resort Management has a Hospitality Employee Assistance Program to assist employees in that industry as they deal with the challenges of COVID-19. Those selected for the program will get care packages of groceries and household supplies that will last a family for about a week. Business owners and managers, fill out this survey and submit the names of up to 10 employees who could use assistance. Have more than 10? No problem, you can submit the survey multiple times.
Max’s Sports Bar now has a Facebook thread set up where you can pre-order crawfish and shrimp from this coming Saturday’s boil. You can add a 6-pack, a slushie, or one of their new poptails (frozen pops) to your order. Please read the pre-ordering and pickup notes on Max’s Facebook page. These boils are quite popular and they want to keep things running as efficiently as possible.
That’s it for now. Time for a walk to South Main Grocery at Spindini to see if any of that yummy lasagna is available in the to-go fridge. Back later today or tomorrow with more news.