There are 93 article(s) tagged Doug McGowen:
City Chief Operating Officer Doug McGowen talked with The Daily Memphian about the factors that led the city and zoo to return to a parking plan that would take some of the Overton Park greensward and several trees. Listen to the interview.
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.
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.
Tennessee as a whole is reporting 117 cases per 100,000 people, up 79% over 14 days, and the highest level in the nation.
Children now account for more COVID-19 infections in Shelby County than 18- to 34-year-olds, another record.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Shelby County Health Department Deputy Director David Sweat is joining the Mecklenburg County Health Department in North Carolina.
“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.
Martavius Jones says he will push for the increase at next week’s council session.
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.
Shelby County children as young as 12 were starting to be vaccinated against COVID-19 on Thursday, May 13.
The mask mandate will be lifted in the new health directive, beginning Saturday, May 15.
The City of Memphis is ready now to set up phone banks, dispatch street teams.
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.
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.
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.
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. Related stories:
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. Related stories: City faces critical decision on one of its most basic services
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. Related stories: City faces critical decision on one of its most basic services
FEMA is expected to pack up and leave May 17, taking 21,000 extra doses of the vaccine with it.
Demand, even with $20 gift cards, is at one-third of the capacity to administer COVID-19 vaccines.