Coronavirus live blog, May 9: County reports 27 new cases of COVID-19, one death
National Guard medics and The University of Tennessee Health Science Center staff collect nasal swabs as hundreds of Memphians line up for COVID-19 testing at the Christ Community testing site in Hickory Hill on Wednesday, May 6, 2020. The University of Memphis is starting drive-thru testing. (Mark Weber/Daily Memphian)
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- Wash your hands regularly for 20 seconds, with soap and water or alcohol-based hand rub
- Cover your nose and mouth with a disposable tissue or flexed elbow when you cough or sneeze
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- Stay home and self-isolate from others in the household if you feel unwell
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth if your hands are not clean
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Here’s the latest from Memphis and Shelby County, below, when it comes to dealing with the novel coronavirus. To view our full coverage, check out The Daily Memphian’s coronavirus landing page.
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May 09, 2020
County reports 27 new cases of COVID-19, one death
Shelby County has reported 27 new cases of COVID-19, with 616 new tests administered throughout the county.
Additionally, one new death has been attributed to the virus.
While the rate of positivity for new cases is at 4.3%, the county experienced a significant drop-off of daily tests. The day prior, 1,467 new tests were administered to people in the county.
Since the pandemic began, 38,961 total tests have been administered throughout the county. As of Saturday morning, 3,140 individuals have tested positive (8.05%).
Of those positive cases, 67 people have died (2.1%); 1,852 people have recovered (59%), and 1,221 individuals have been identified by the Shelby County Health Department as currently living with the novel coronavirus (38.9%).
As of 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, the Tennessee Department of Health reports 14,441 cases, 241 deaths and 243,578 people tested.
Local coronavirus cases, at a glance
How COVID-19 cases are growing locally and statewide
May 08, 2020
Free drive-thru testing to be held at U of M
Free drive-thru coronavirus testing will be conducted from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Tuesday, May 12 through Thursday, May 14 at the University of Memphis.
The testing will held on the Central Avenue parking lot, next to the Holiday Inn. The test consists of a self-administered nasal swab.
Health care workers, and symptomatic and asymptomatic people are eligible for testing, based on a virtual screening. Click here to be screened and then schedule a test.
Test results are expected to be returned in about 48 hours; Kroger Health expects to administer 250 tests per day.
Kroger Health is partnering with U of M and Cherokee Health Systems for the testing.
Governor’s COVID-19 Unified Command leader to leave post
Stuart McWhorter, the leader of Gov. Bill Lee’s COVID-19 Unified Command team, is set to leave the post for the private section at the end of May, the governor announced Friday.
McWhorter, who formerly served as commissioner of the Finance & Administration Department, is set to take a role in senior advisory at Clemson University, according to the governor.
“Stuart has been a tremendous asset to my administration, first as the commissioner of Finance and Administration, then in his role as director for our COVID-19 response through Unified Command,” Lee said in a statement. “His ability to apply private-sector expertise to public-sector challenges has served our state well and I wish him the best in his new chapter with his alma mater’s entrepreneurship and innovation planning.”
The Unified Command Group, composed of the Tennessee Department of Health, the Tennessee Department of Military and the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, has established working procedures for testing, procurement, hospital capacity contingency planning, data analysis and other core functions in the fight against COVID-19. The Unified Command Group continues to coordinate with the Economic Recovery Group through planning and executing on the safe re-boot of Tennessee’s economy.
“The strong work of Unified Command will continue as we address the ongoing COVID-19 public health crisis,” Lee said. “This group has optimized our state’s response and we will keep this model in place for as long as needed.”
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