Doug McGowen, the chief operating officer for the city of Memphis, opened the COVID-19 task force press conference yesterday. He contrasted the current surge with the one that happened back in March at the beginning of the pandemic. Back then, the coronavirus was spreading mainly in urban communities, and people from around the country could be brought in to provide extra assistance. However, now the virus is everywhere, in every county. Therefore, we are largely restricted to our own resources in Shelby County to fight the virus.
Chief McGowen went on to say that people are being called on to serve. Licensed medical workers are needed to provide care, and non-medical workers are needed to make sure medical workers are not doing administrative work when they are needed out in the field. The chief encouraged those interested to go ahead and sign up for the state’s Medical Reserve. Both paid and volunteer positions are available.
Dr. Bruce Randolph, County Health Officer, gave a scary statistic about the first weekend of assurance testing last Saturday and Sunday. Anyone could get a test, symptomatic or asymptomatic, but most of those tested had no idea they had the virus. Yet over 400 of the approximately 2500 tests came back positive, a 16% positivity rate. The virus is running rampant in the community, and until the vaccine is widespread, masking, social distancing, and hand washing are our only tools to fight its spread.
Happy New Year, YOGA! Amy Hutcheson of Downtown Yoga will offer a 6 week beginners series with options for in-studio and virtual training. Dates are January 6-February 10, Wednesdays 6:45-7:45 PM. Two options are available:
- In studio: $120 for the entire series (6 social distanced spots available)
- Virtual: $75 for the entire series
If you miss a class, the recording video will be made available for the 24 hours following.
A Gus’s Fried Chicken restaurant will open next month in Mesa, Arizona, a suburb to the southeast of Phoenix.
From the DM: A new bill would raise drag racing penalties and allow for car seizure. Something needs to be done. Drag racers Downtown have been out of control much of this year.
The Memphis Tigers men’s basketball team got a 94-57 win over Mississippi Valley State yesterday. The Tigers travel to Atlanta this Saturday for a 4 PM neutral-site game vs. Auburn. That game will be carried on the SEC Network.
Today is National Llama Day.
Cheers to our neighbor to the north, Tipton County, for doing the right thing by enacting a mask mandate.
The Tom Lee Park groundbreaking will be livestreamed on Facebook today at 3 PM.
That’s it for today. Back tomorrow with more news.