Governor extends order on elective surgeries; ‘stay at home’ date remains
Gov. Bill Lee, seen here at a March press conference in Nashville, signed an executive order April 8 extending the postponement of elective medical and dental procedures. (Mark Humphrey/AP File)
Gov. Bill Lee signed an executive order Wednesday, April 8, extending the postponement of elective medical and dental procedures. But he’s not ready to push out the date for a “stay at home” order.
The order covers non-urgent procedures that can be delayed without risking adverse consequences for the patient. The measure also limits the number of people participating in surgeries and other invasive procedures to preserve personal protective equipment, which has been hard to come by during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Still, Lee is shying away from extending the April 14 “stay at home” order he issued to keep Tennesseans from traveling unnecessarily and spreading the virus.
During his Wednesday press conference from the State Capitol, Lee said he will make the decision based on data, which changes almost daily.
Editor’s Note: The Daily Memphian is making our coronavirus coverage accessible to all readers — no subscription needed. Our journalists continue to work around the clock to provide you with the extensive coverage you need; if you can subscribe, please do.
'“We know we can’t stop this virus, though we can slow it down to the point that we have adequate capacity in our healthcare system. That is something we look at daily, as well, and we’re making real strong efforts to make sure we have that capacity,” Lee said.
The latest model by the Institute for Health Metrics at the University of Washington shows Tennessee’s need for hospital resources peaking on April 17 when 1,244 beds will be needed out of 7,812 beds available. Another 248 intensive care unit beds will be needed out of 629 ICU beds available, and 211 ventilators will be needed, according to the projections.
Deaths per day from COVID-19 have gone up and down in the past week, never topping a high of 12, and hitting a total of 79 on Wednesday. A peak of 25 deaths per day is projected by April 18, and the model shows Tennessee could experience 617 deaths by Aug. 4.
The curve of the viral spread is projected to flatten out in mid-May. And the governor contends social distancing and other measures the state has taken are leading toward that decrease.
The state continues to plan for that “surge” and has plans in effect to turn places such as Nashville’s Music City Center into a makeshift hospital. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has targeted locations in Memphis too.
As part of the buildup to handle the surge, the governor previously issued an executive order loosening the restrictions for retired medical professionals to return to work and temporarily suspending continuing education requirements. About 800 healthcare personnel have contacted the state to serve.
The governor announced Wednesday that HealthStream, a Tennessee company, is offering COVID-19 training and support to launch the state’s alternative healthcare facilities.
In addition, American Family Care clinics in Middle Tennessee are starting to use new COVID-19 ID Now Machines made by Abbott capable of showing positive test results in five minutes and negative results in 13 minutes.
Topics
Bill Lee Institute for Health Metrics HealthStreamSam Stockard
Sam Stockard is a Nashville-based reporter with more than 30 years of journalism experience as a writer, editor and columnist covering the state Legislature and Tennessee politics for The Daily Memphian.
Want to comment on our stories or respond to others? Join the conversation by subscribing now. Only paid subscribers can add their thoughts or upvote/downvote comments. Our commenting policy can be viewed here.