St. Jude is using daily test data of hundreds of employees to unravel the mysteries of COVID-19 immunity, antibodies.

Gov. Bill Lee, faced with opening schools in the midst of a pandemic, promised more “transparency” Tuesday, Aug. 4, on reporting COVID-19 cases in schools but declined to say the public will be given case numbers for every school statewide.

Persons infected with COVID-19 should limit exposure to household contacts. No visitors should be allowed in the home.

Dr. Bruce Randolph, Shelby County Health Department health officer, attributed the positive indicators locally to increased mask usage and other restrictions put in place.

President of the St. Louis Federal Reserve believes the incentives are strong on both sides of the aisle in Congress to come to a deal on additional stimulus.

Parents or guardians must pick up tablets or laptops on the designated days and times for their schools before online-only classes begin Aug. 30.

Gov. Bill Lee Monday, Aug. 3, called a special legislative session for Aug. 10 at which legislators will focus on adopting COVID-19 liability immunity legislation designed to protect small businesses and schools from an outbreak of coronavirus lawsuits.

Since July 27, the number of COVID-positive patients in regional intensive care units has hovered around the 120 mark, according to data from the state’s Healthcare Resource Tracking System.

Collierville released a new reopening plan for elementary students. allowing those in Pre-K through 5th to attend school five days per week.

The positivity rate for tests released Friday, July 31, was 19%, and on Thursday, July 30, it was 53.4%. The positivity rate for Sunday, Aug. 2 is 6.6%.

Private and independent schools have far more autonomy in the decision-making process as opposed to schools in the districts like Shelby County. 

COVID-19 claimed Tom Marino's life and maybe his brother Steve's, too. Family and friends don't treat that as summary of Tom's life, but more of a footnote to be heeded. 

When it comes to returning children to school or keeping them home during a world pandemic, school systems and parents must decide independently what's best for them.

The health of 33 assisted living residents is being monitored after a COVID-19 outbreak in Bartlett. In Shelby County as a whole, there have been five new coronavirus deaths in the past 24 hours.

For the month of July, the Shelby County Health Department has reported 83 coronavirus-related deaths. That compares to 76 in June, 59 in May and 44 in April. Nineteen deaths have been reported since July 23.

About 80% of public school students are under Shelby County Schools and will start the academic year online. But some suburban schools, charter schools, and state-run schools plan to have a mix of online and in-person instruction.

Dr. Jon McCullers, a leader in the fight against COVID-19, encouraged parents and school districts to make the best individual choices when deciding on attendance for this school year.

Weekly averages tone down bumps that show up when tests come from a high-impact area or are delayed in being processed and are reported all at once.

U of M will reassess the situation in early September. In the meantime, President Rudd notes that the campus never closed and has density of students and staff of 35%-40%.

Contact sports are not safe to return, despite Gov. Bill Lee's latest executive order, Dr. Jon McCullers said.

Alisa Haushalter, Shelby County Health Department director, said the goal is to have coronavirus tripwires ready by tomorrow afternoon. She said this will be a good way to let the public know if we reach certain thresholds, actions will be taken.

The Shelby County Health Department reported 326 new coronavirus cases from only 610 tests on Thursday, giving the day a positivity rate of 53.4%. 

Limited-service restaurants will remain closed, second federal judge has ruled, saying “sympathy cannot play a role” in the law.

Shelby County’s overall positivity rate surpassed 10% this week. A concerning number local health experts wanted to avoid on a daily basis, much less for the overall rate.

Bars will remain closed for now, Judge Jon P. McCalla rules in his order denying their request to reopen after being closed by the Health Department in early July.