Dr. Haushalter, director of the Shelby County Health Department, led things off. She said the most promising piece of news is the steady decline in the COVID-19 testing positivity rate in recent weeks. Once over 16 percent, the number for the most recent week was 13.5. They want to get the percentage below 10, then begin looking at getting it below 5.
Another encouraging sign is that R, the reproductive rate of the virus, has been below 1 for several weeks now. That means that each person who has COVID-19 infects less than one other person on average, which is the point at which the virus starts to die out.
Dr. Haushalter reminded everyone that as we approach fall, it’s easy to want to get back to normal as the weather gets nicer and the COVID numbers start to go down. We can’t do that. We must stay vigilant.
For those going to high school football games this Friday, Dr. Haushalter challenges you to think how you’re going to do that in advance. How are you going to socially distance from other fans? Could your mask get wet, and if so should you bring a second as a backup? Hand washing is not easy to do at a football stadium, so consider bringing hand sanitizer. If over 55 or in a high-risk category for COVID-19 complications, you may want to skip football games for now.
Dr. H then gave an update on some guidelines concerning schools. She said it is no longer recommended children be screened before school or at school.
When an individual is positive, that is called a case, and they go into isolation, she explained, setting up the next part of her advice on schools. An individual with a mild case of the virus can return to work or school after 10 days of isolation and 24 hours fever-free without the help of medication. However, those with moderate or severe symptoms may need to isolate for 20 days or more to be free of symptoms, and schools and workplaces need to be able to handle that.
Also, those experiencing a household cluster may need to quarantine for 14 days and then, if they test positive, isolate for 10 days after that, a total of up to 24 days. Schools and workplaces need to be prepared for that as well.
Dr. H noted that a major function of public health is to preserve privacy, especially concerning children. Therefore they will protect privacy where schools and school systems are concerned. However, if the state issues different guidance on privacy, the Shelby County Health Department will follow that.
Jenny Bartlett-Prescott took the podium. She is the COO at Church Health and the team lead for the testing subcommittee of the COVID-19 task force. She said 30 different testing sites across the county can perform 8200 tests per week. In a followup question, she said the 30 number includes public testing sites and private providers like Walgreens and CVS. They are working to add new sites and providers. Go to covid19.memphistn.gov to find site information, including times of day, days of week, and what ages of children they accept. She said there is wide availability for testing of children. However, she asks that for both children and adults, call or text to schedule an appointment rather than just showing up. This helps them prioritize testing.
Dorcas Young Griffin, the director of the division of community services for Shelby County government, spoke next. She said that since March 13, MLGW has had a moratorium on cutoffs and late fees, but that expires Monday. Her agency, however, recognizes that there are many who are still struggling, who have bills that piled up (added by Paul: such as limited service restaurant employees who currently can’t work). There are several avenues of help available.
One avenue is the Shelby County Community Services Agency, which can help households with up to $650 of utility assistance, based on income or lack thereof. Go to shelbycountycsa.org and click on the utility assistance portion.
Another resource for assistance is MIFA, which offers one-time emergency help based on their Plus-1 Program (where your utility bill is rounded up to the next highest dollar). Go to mifa.org and click on the emergency assistance eligibility tab.
In addition, the State of Tennessee has a cash assistance program for families. See Emergency Cash Assistance on the Tennessee Department of Human Services website. The deadline for this program was supposed to pass a couple of months ago, but it has been extended to August 29.
Dr. Haushalter was asked about hospitalization in surrounding areas, and what that could mean for Shelby County. She said each hospital has overflow partners they work with as needed. The counties surrounding Memphis have representatives on the Shelby County COVID-19 task force, as do Jackson-Madison, Arkansas, and Mississippi. The task force has taken a regional approach to the pandemic.
Dr. H was asked about Harding Academy, which suspended sports activities after 12 athletes tested positive for COVID-19. She said it was disconcerting to see, given that the health department does not recommend participation in contact sports at this time.
In a followup question, she was asked about measures coaches and athletic administrators could take to keep their student-athletes as safe as possible. She said to think about social distancing them to the extent possible, to think, how do you practice in small cohorts? She reminded everyone of common-sense guidelines, such as not sharing water bottles. She also said that new advances in protective equipment (helmets with shields, mouthpieces that prevent the spread of saliva) and in testing will advice future recommendations for athletes.
As for what parents of athletes can do, Dr. H. advised to do what they can to keep the kids healthy. Make sure they get regular, nutritious meals. Make sure they get plenty of sleep. Make sure they get their flu shot. By doing these things, if infected, kids are less likely to become ill.
It was pointed out by Brad Broders of Local 24 that testing is down about 30%, and to what did she attribute that. DING DING DING! The social media “health experts” will be so happy that someone finally asked about that! Haushalter attributed it to two things: One, fewer people are physically ill and/or displaying symptoms. Secondly, around July 4 a lot of asymptomatic people were getting tested just to satisfy their curiosity, inflating the testing numbers around that time.
Bartlett-Prescott followed up, saying we’re currently in the green zone for testing, less than 70% capacity. However, capacity can change quickly, and the testing subcommittee meets every Monday. They do this to make sure the message remains consistent across testing sites.
Haushalter was asked if there had been an organizational change in the health department to investigate changes in schools. She said, just as there have been teams to investigate other clustered cases before (nursing homes, jails), there will be one for clusters in schools. The schools will need contact people for technical assistance, which it’s why it’s good to dedicate people to that area. Partnering with educators and parents will do a lot to speed up contact tracing and prevent spread.
Those are the high points. Although the declining number of tests was discussed, the trip wires were not, so people will still have something to rant and rave and fume about on social media. Back tomorrow with more news.