Health Dept. director: ‘COVID is not done with us’
The local Health Department is not planning on additional COVID-19 business restrictions at this time but “nothing is off the table,” said its director.
Topic: Doug McGowen
RSSThere are 192 article(s) tagged Doug McGowen:
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September 2021
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Memphis’ $161M ARPA budget gets a City Council rewrite
Council members put ARPA spending plans on hold to talk about a compromise that could increase the council’s share of ARPA funding from $13 million to around $20 million.
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COVID patients break more hospital records
Tennessee as a whole is reporting 117 cases per 100,000 people, up 79% over 14 days, and the highest level in the nation.
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August 2021
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Local COVID-19 hospitalization rates hit new high
Children now account for more COVID-19 infections in Shelby County than 18- to 34-year-olds, another record.
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‘Dangerously over capacity’ ERs at risk of treating only those likely to survive
The Pipkin Building vaccination site will not close at the end of August and Germantown and Collierville partners will open a high-volume site, said City of Memphis COO Doug McGowen.
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Hospital emergency directors call for immediate countywide mask mandate
The letter circulating Tuesday warns of “catastrophic” effects that could “affect health care at every level.” Meanwhile, the city council is urging Gov. Bill Lee to rescind his executive order to allow parents to opt out of school mask mandates.
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Delta now accounts for 98% of skyrocketing COVID cases
Of the 4,383 active cases in Shelby County, more than a quarter are in children, and those children are suffering more respiratory symptoms than they were earlier in the pandemic.
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July 2021
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Task force briefings resume as Delta drives up COVID cases
The Shelby County Health Department reported 259 new coronavirus cases Thursday, July 22. One month ago, the agency reported 14 new cases. Majority are Delta variant.
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June 2021
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Summer ‘could be rough’ for unvaccinated, those without prior infections
With the Delta coronavirus variant 50% more transmissible than the Alpha variant, Shelby County Health Department deputy director David Sweat said the summer could be “rough” for those who are not vaccinated or have not already had the coronavirus.
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Deputy director ends tenure with Health Department
Shelby County Health Department Deputy Director David Sweat is joining the Mecklenburg County Health Department in North Carolina.
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Delta variant expected to be dominant by late July
“When we look at modeling based on expected reproductive rate, right now it suggests that by the end of July more than 50% of (coronavirus) disease here could be because of Delta,” said David Sweat, deputy director of the Shelby County Health Department.
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Council member proposes city property tax 29 cents above recertified rate
Martavius Jones says he will push for the increase at next week’s council session.
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May 2021
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With vaccine uptake waning, approach changes to get more people vaccinated
Shelby County is about 51% toward its goal of vaccinating 700,000 people, according to the county Health Department. As of Thursday, 355,102 total people are vaccinated with 270,297 of them fully vaccinated.
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First 12-year-olds going through local shot lines
Shelby County children as young as 12 were starting to be vaccinated against COVID-19 on Thursday, May 13.
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County poised to remove mask mandate
The mask mandate will be lifted in the new health directive, beginning Saturday, May 15.
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City plans ‘get out the vote’ type vaccine campaign
The City of Memphis is ready now to set up phone banks, dispatch street teams.
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City Council starts budget ‘Super Bowl’ at convention center
The retreat Saturday, May 1, marks the first in-person council meeting in more than a year. It included new details of $16 million in bonuses to city employees in Mayor Jim Strickland’s $716 million budget proposal and a flap over whether team-building exercises and a tour of the Renasant Convention Center were open to reporters.
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April 2021
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India COVID-19 variant detected in Shelby County
One variant linked to India’s recent COVID-19 surge was detected in Shelby County this week, said David Sweat, Shelby County Health Department deputy director.
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No appointments, no lines, but Memphis vaccine rate lags
At last count, 41% of adults in Shelby County had received at least one vaccine; the goal is 70%. Local leaders have done everything from eliminating the need for appointments to giving vaccination recipients gift cards.
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City faces critical decision on one of its most basic services
Memphis has an emergency contract with Team Waste in Area E, probably until the end of 2021. In the interim, officials are considering whether to keep using a private waste company to manage the area or expand city services to cover it.
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A short history of Area E
The solid waste route system covering Cordova, Hickory Hill and East Memphis began as a first step toward privatizing all city solid waste collections during the tenure of a different mayor.
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City faces critical decision on one of its most basic services
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How your solid waste fee ballooned to $30 a month
Here is the history behind the city’s solid waste fee and how it compares to what the city’s new private contractor for Area E is being paid and what the previous contractor was being paid.
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City faces critical decision on one of its most basic services
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Next four weeks ‘critical’ as federal vaccine help likely to move on in May
FEMA is expected to pack up and leave May 17, taking 21,000 extra doses of the vaccine with it.
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Low vaccine turnout raises questions about how long military needed at Pipkin
Demand, even with $20 gift cards, is at one-third of the capacity to administer COVID-19 vaccines.
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Health officials: 2,000-3,000 locally have received J&J vaccine
Doug McGowen also says doses were wasted last weekend when the size of the line at the Pipkin Building site was overestimated. He says fewer than 100 doses have been lost since the city took over vaccine distribution in late February.
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