Horseshoe Tunica announced Saturday that it will resume gaming operations at 8 a.m. on Thursday, May 21, in accordance with directives from the Mississippi Gaming Commission and the Mississippi State Department of Health, pending regulatory approval.

Horseshoe will operate at 50% capacity, in accordance with phase 1 Casino Reopening Guidelines issued by the Mississippi Gaming Commission, according to a release.

Slot machine banks will be arranged to allow for proper social distancing, and table games will be offered with limited seating.

Certain amenities including Poker, the Sportsbook, Village Square Buffet, the Laurel Lounge and the WSOP bar will remain closed until further notice. Those amenities are planned to reopen in phases, in-line with consumer demand and pursuant to guidance provided by public health authorities.

All other outlets and self-betting kiosks will open Thursday, May 21, at 8 a.m.

For a full list of amenities that will be available, visit www.horseshoetunica.com. 

The Shelby County Health Department confirmed 72 new cases of COVID-19 and two new deaths Saturday morning. 

The total number of confirmed cases in the county is 3,641, up from Friday’s report of 3,569 cases.

In Shelby County, 84 individuals have died from complications of the virus.

Residents of Shelby County are continuing to be tested at a rising rate. After 1,634 tests between Friday and Saturday morning, the total number of tests administered in Shelby County is 49,764.

The rate of positivity of new tests is 4.4%.

As of Saturday morning, 2,375 people in Shelby County are considered as having recovered from COVID-19.

Statewide, 271 new cases have been confirmed in the last 24 hours, bringing the total of Tennessee residents confirmed to have contracted the novel coronavirus to 16,970. The total of confirmed deaths is at 290.

Memphis State Rep. Barbara Cooper announced that free, voluntary testing for COVID-19 will begin next week in many of the city’s housing units.

Health care workers and National Guardsmen wearing medical protective gear, in conjunction with Memphis Housing Authority and Gov. Bill Lee’s COVID-19 Unified Command Group, is scheduled to test for the coronavirus Monday and Tuesday in the following areas:

9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday, May 18:

• Legends Park North
• Montgomery Plaza Apartments
• E. Patterson Pointe Apartments

9 a.m. to 1 p.m. (except as noted) Tuesday, May 19:

• Kefauver Terrace Apartments (9 to 11 a.m.)
• Jefferson Square Apartments

At this time, final arrangements are still pending, and there could be further updates. 

Cooper said she’s heard from constituents in those areas, many of them seniors, who are concerned about the virus.

“Often senior citizens and others in high rise apartments and public housing may want to get tested, but don’t have the ability to get back and forth to the mobile testing centers; this way we can respond to their concerns and bring the testing directly to them to serve their needs,” she said.

Cooper added the effort is supported by the Governor’s office, the Tennessee Black Caucus of State Legislators and the House Democratic Caucus.

City of Memphis Chief Operating Officer Doug McGowen said Monday is day 14 of Phase 1 of the Back to Business plan and reiterated that will be the earliest for Phase 2. He said so far the data toward Phase 2 looks really good, but they will continue to evaluate. 

Shelby County Health Department Director Alisa Haushalter won’t make a recommendation on Phase 2 until Monday since it is the 14th and final day of Phase 1. They anticipate making announcement on Monday per Haushalter.

McGowen said Phase 2 is a whole new segment of businesses and moving to larger groups of about 50, but doesn’t draw a hard line at 49 or 50.

“It’s a calculated move,” he said.

McGowen said there will be more enforcement of social distancing with additions to the health department and city code enforcement. But he says in Phase 1, there have been very few calls of violations.

Haushalter said there are “no significant barriers” to reopening, but wants to wait the full 14 days. She said it would be “premature” to pull the trigger on Phase 2 before that.

There has been a “slow incremental increase in hospitalizations” per Haushalter in recent days. They know it’s COVID-related, but are still drilling down on the specifics. It is among the factors she will be watching over the weekend in making the decision on Phase 2.

Haushalter said part of the deliberations over the weekend is to see if the use of ICU beds that has increased is nursing home cases or something new.

Haushalter said increased use of hospital beds is COVID cases and hospitalization of those with the virus as a precaution.

McGowen said the 495 Union Ave. field hospital is 14-15% of local hospital capacity. And the hospital could conceivably ease the uptick in use of hospital beds currently.

As of midnight, the field hospital will be ready with 400 non-acute care beds. The formal opening is early next week.

Haushalter on school reopenings said the state is changing its guidance as we speak and need an increase in contact tracers for that and other aspects of further reopenings.

McGowen said we are only using 60% of testing capacity at this point. He pushed getting tested.

David Sweat, Shelby County Health Department head of epidemiology, said almost 20% of pediatric coronavirus cases are Latino. Sweat said he believes that is caused by household transmission. Of the 82 fatal cases, it’s 2.3% of confirmed cases. The majority are male. Seventy percent of the dead are African-American.

The biggest contributor of deaths in Shelby County is healthcare-associated infections, including nursing home clusters. In 33% of cases, we don’t know the related causes yet.

Other factors in the deaths -- “by far,” Sweat said the biggest single risk factor in the deaths is cardiac conditions, including high blood pressure or congestive heart failure or any different number of cardiac problems. 

”If you have any of these underlying conditions ... and if you have a combination of these risk factors together (including diabetes et al) ... it’s super important for you to adhere as closely as possible to all of these safeguards,” he said. 

 That includes masks and staying home as much as possible.

Sweat said the axiom in public health is “if you go looking for something you are likely to find it.” He commented on the relationship between the increase in testing and spread of testing and cases found in those specific areas.