Predictions on COVID-19 surge differ, but all agree it’s coming
“This is serious,” said Dr. Bruce Randolph, Shelby County Health Department medical director. “This is a life-and-death moment. The actions that we take now will make a difference in the number of deaths that occur as a result of COVID-19.” (Mark Weber/Daily Memphian)
David Waters
David Waters is Distinguished Journalist in Residence and assistant director of the Institute for Public Service Reporting at the University of Memphis.
The Surge.
It’s coming. When will it arrive in Memphis and Shelby County? How long will it last? How large will it be? How many people will get sick? How many will die? Will we be prepared?
Hundreds of people in government, health care, academia and business are working — literally around the clock — trying to predict and prepare for the coming COVID-19 surge.
That’s the date when local COVID-19 cases are expected to peak and most challenge the capacity of the local health care system.
One model, endorsed last week by Tennessee officials, predicts that the surge will hit hospitals across the state on April 19. The same model predicts the surge will hit America four days earlier.
“I want every American to be prepared for the hard days that lie ahead,” President Trump said last Wednesday, April 1. “This is going to be one of the roughest two or three weeks we’ve ever had in our country. We’re going to lose thousands of people.”
The next two or three weeks will be the roughest for Tennessee as well, according to the state’s forecast.
That model predicts that the number of hospital beds, ICU beds and ventilators needed statewide to treat local COVID-19 patients will exceed the number currently available by this Thursday — April 9.
But another model, being followed by local epidemiologists, predicts the surge will crash into Memphis-area hospitals in mid-May or possibly even later in summer.
Members of the Memphis and Shelby COVID-19 Task Force aren’t waiting to see which model is right.
Doug McGowen
Doug McGowen, the city’s chief operating officer, has asked the chief executive officers of the four local hospital systems to deliver early this week a coordinated plan to handle the surge.
The plan must explain how Baptist, Methodist-LeBonheur, St. Francis, and Regional One will work together to double the number of available hospital beds, triple the number of ICU beds, quadruple the number of ventilators, and find enough doctors, nurses and other medical personnel to staff the surge.
No one knows exactly how much space, equipment, medicine and medical personnel will be required to meet the surge.
No one knows how many people will be infected with the novel coronavirus, nor how many will die. Mortality estimates for Shelby County range from 250 to 20,000.
Nearly everyone agrees that the arrival, magnitude and duration of the surge — and ultimately the resulting number of deaths — still depend on a variety of biological, medical and sociological factors that can and likely will change.
That’s why hundreds of professionals still are working not only to predict and prepare for the COVID-19 surge, but to mitigate and manage it.
The goal remains to “flatten” the curve and spread out the number of COVID-19 cases so they don’t hit the health care system like a tsunami.
“No state, no metro area will be spared,” Dr. Deborah Birx, White House coronavirus response coordinator, said a week ago.
“And the sooner that we react and the sooner the states and the metro areas react and ensure that they put in full mitigation at the same time understanding exactly what their hospitals need, then we’ll be able to move forward together and protect the most Americans.”
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Predicting the actual date of the surge in Memphis, or anywhere, is a complex calculation that depends on a number of ever-changing variables.
- The number of susceptible people in a particular area.
This coronavirus is a new or novel virus. There is no immunity or vaccine yet, so it’s assumed that everyone is susceptible.
- The number of infected people in that area.
That can change every day for three reasons. More people are being tested. More people are being infected. The number of people being infected is changing due to social distancing and other efforts to reduce the spread of the virus.
- The number of people who have recovered in that area.
That number is constantly changing. And the models presume that those who have recovered from COVID-19 are immune from subsequent infection.
Some models also presume that only a certain percentage (say 15 percent) of COVID-19 cases have been detected.
That’s because not everyone has or will be tested, and an unknown number of infected people don’t show symptoms and remain untested and undetected.
The models throw in several other variables:
- The best current estimates of how long someone is infectious (14 days).
- How many new cases each infected person causes (about 2.5).
- The percentage of COVID-19 patients who need to be hospitalized (5-10%).
- The percentage who need to be in an ICU (2-5%) and on a ventilator (1-2%).
- The length of stay for each patient that uses a bed, an ICU and a ventilator (7-14 days).
- All of those variables have made predicting any area’s surge a moving target.
It’s even more complicated than that. Local officials have been using different models to predict the surge.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime epidemic,” said Alisa Haushalter, executive director of the Shelby County Health Department and one of the key leaders of the Memphis and Shelby County COVID-19 Task Force. (Houston Cofield Special to The Daily Memphian)
A team of local epidemiologists, who study diseases, are using a model developed for individual hospitals by the Predictive Healthcare team at the University of Pennsylvania.
It’s called the COVID-19 Hospital Impact Model for Epidemics, or CHIME.
It tries to calculate the impact of local social distancing measures, and estimate the percentage of noncompliance.
For example, it presumes that a community achieving 35 percent compliance will suffer more infections and deaths and sooner than a community achieving 65 percent compliance.
”People still can dictate how high the surge will be as well as the duration of the surge,” said Dr. Manoj Jain, an epidemiologist and infectious disease expert hired to advise the city on its coronavirus response.
”Social distancing works,” he said. “The more we do to slow and flatten the surge, the better we will be able to ride it out.”
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City and county leaders had been relying on the CHIME model to help them prepare for the surge. That model predicts a later and lower surge in about a month.
But two weeks ago, Gov. Bill Lee asked Vanderbilt University to create a new model.
“I have asked for a modeling that is unique to our state,” Lee said on March 26, “and we think we’ll have that model within a day or so, having informed decisions around next steps.”
A day turned into a week as city and county officials waited for the new model to help them predict what they would be facing in the weeks ahead.
The state finally released its “new” model last Wednesday, April 1. It’s basically the model developed by the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, or IHME.
That’s the same model being used by the federal government to predict a national surge by April 15.
The Tennessee/IHME model predicts the surge will hit much sooner (April 19), and be much steeper, but be over in about a month.
The Hospital/CHIME model predicts the surge will hit much later (mid-May to early August), and last longer (until November), but won’t be nearly as steep or lethal.
Another big difference between the two models is more concerning to local officials.
The Tennessee/IHME model makes only state level predictions. Local epidemiologists haven’t been able to adjust that model for Memphis and Shelby County.
Neither model accounts for the likelihood that Shelby County’s health care system also will be taking care of COVID-19 patients from North Mississippi and East Arkansas.
“If the virus comes, which it will, and it strikes hard in rural west Tennessee and eastern Arkansas and north Mississippi, Memphis will feel it,” U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen of Memphis said March 31.
“Those citizens will come to Memphis for health care since some of their counties do not have ventilators. That will put a crush on our hospitals.”
The governors of Tennessee and Mississippi issued stay-at-home orders late last week. The Arkansas governor has yet to do so.
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Local officials know they can’t stop the surge, but they can try to delay and lessen its impact.
That would give local hospitals more time to prepare for the surge and treat patients.
That also potentially could reduce the overall number of COVID-19 patients who will require medical care.
“If we don’t blunt the spread of the virus, we will soon be out of capacity at our local hospitals,” McGowen said last week.
That’s why officials last week put more pressure on nursing homes and assisted living facilities to protect, test, isolate and treat their highly vulnerable residents.
That’s why officials have been working to reduce the number of people in other high-density facilities such as the Shelby County Jail and local prisons.
That’s why they’ve been pushing for more testing — especially for health care workers — to identify and quarantine or isolate more of those who are infected.
That’s why they’ve been training more people to do contact tracing to identify more quickly people who have been in direct contact with those who are infected.
Josh Spickler of Just City heads to the city jail to post five bonds on March 22, 2020. Spickler plans to bail out 50-60 people from the county jail to help them escape the threat of possible COVID infection. He has up to $75K available from the RFK Human Rights organization and others. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
And that’s why they’ve been doubling-down in recent days on social distancing. The best way to avoid infection is to avoid people who have the virus.
Last Thursday, the county’s chief health officer warned that up to 20,000 people could die in Shelby County if stay-at-home orders and not strictly followed and enforced.
“This is serious,” said Dr. Bruce Randolph. “This is a life-and-death moment. The actions that we take now will make a difference in the number of deaths that occur as a result of COVID-19.”
Social distancing remains the task force’s top priority and greatest hope for slowing and weakening the surge.
Memphis started earlier than any other city in the state.
Local public schools closed for Spring Break March 16 and didn’t reopen. Neither did local colleges.
Mayor Jim Strickland declared a civil emergency March 19, requiring restaurants to provide take-out or delivery only, closing bars and gyms, and asking that all worship services be postponed or moved online.
Local mobility declined 24 percent that week from the previous week, according to cell phone tracking data measured by Cuebiq. That wasn’t enough.
Local health officials think social contacts must be reduced by at least 65 percent to stop the spread of the virus.
On March 24, Strickland issued a “Safer at Home” order, requiring Memphians to stay home unless they are performing an “essential” task or service. The mayors of Shelby County and its six smaller cities did the same.
“We are in serious, unprecedented times,” Strickland said. “There has to be personal responsibility. You must take social distancing seriously.”
Local mobility declined only about 4 percent that week, according to Cuebiq. But last week it was down 32 percent from the previous week.
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Other measures of social distancing also have been discouraging.
The Tennessee Department of Transportation has been measuring freeway traffic now compared to a year ago.
Traffic on Memphis highways declined from March 13 to March 24, dropping to 30 percent of what it was a year ago. But over the past week, that decline stalled.
The first week of March, people in Shelby County traveled an average distance of 3.89 miles. That was down to 2.66 miles last week.
But residents of only 11 other stay-at-home counties in America are traveling farther, according to an analysis of Cuebiq data by The New York Times.
Gov. Bill Lee and state officials looked at cell phone data compiled by another company, Unacast.
That company’s data showed that Shelby County residents reduced their average mobility 40-55 percent last month.
That’s about the same as the average American. But it’s far less than the 65 percent local health officials say is needed to contain the virus.
Last Thursday, Lee took the same direct and somber tone last week when he ordered all Tennesseans to stay home at least through April 14.
“I want to speak directly to every Tennessean,” Lee said. “The month of April stands to be a very tough time for our state. COVID-19 is an eminent threat and we need you to understand that staying home isn’t an option. It is a requirement for the swift defeat of COVID-19 in Tennessee.”
The traffic and cell phone data give local officials a glimpse of how well social distancing policies are working.
They want an even clearer local picture.
For more than two weeks, data scientists at the University of Memphis have been developing a social distancing app being called mContain.
The goal is to more closely and accurately measure social contacts in three ways:
- Use cell phone data to determine where groups of 10 or more people are gathered at any one time in Shelby County.
- Use cell phone data to determine how many people have come within 6 feet of someone else for 10 or more minutes in a 24-hour period in Shelby County.
- Use cell phone and health care data to detect and send a text alert to anyone who comes within 6 feet or another person who has tested positive for the coronavirus.
City and county lawyers have raised privacy concerns. So have hospital lawyers. But the app is expected to be released in stages this week and next.
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Memphis and Shelby County have been mobilizing for the COVID-19 surge for nearly a month.
It’s a massive undertaking, a daunting logistical challenge, even in a community known worldwide for its logistics expertise.
It involves thousands of people working in multiple levels of government and at multiple health care facilities with varying levels of expertise, experience and responsibility.
It requires all of them to prepare in different ways for something they’ve never before encountered — a pandemic that also is effecting everyone around the world.
A virus that is more infectious than Ebola, and 10 times more lethal than the seasonal flu.
A virus that can remain viable in the air for up to three hours and on some surfaces for up to three days.
A virus that can be transmitted by carriers who are not showing any symptoms.
A serious and sometimes severe respiratory disease with severe complications can require more than two weeks of intensive care.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime epidemic,” said Alisa Haushalter, executive director of the Shelby County Health Department and one of the key leaders of the Memphis and Shelby County COVID-19 Task Force.
”It’s important for those of us who know that to say that so that people understand this is something very serious.”
Every morning at 8 a.m., dozens of people gather online to discuss what is being done — and what needs to be done — to contain and manage the pandemic here in the greater Memphis area.
The Memphis and Shelby County COVID-19 Task Force includes all county mayors, officials from bordering counties, and other local public officials.
It includes the CEO’s and COO’s of all major hospitals, leading epidemiologists and infectious disease experts such as Jain, and health care professionals from Church Health, Christ Community Health Services and other providers.
It includes Haushalter and other officials from the Shelby County Health Department, as well as officials representing local law enforcement, fire fighters and other first responders.
It includes public health experts and other scientists from UTHSC and U of M, and representatives of TEMA, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and other state and federal agencies.
Their top five priorities:
- Social distancing
- Testing
- Contact tracing
- Quarantining or isolating
- Predicting and preparing for the surge.
“We’re working to ensure that not only the community remains safe, but members of the healthcare community remain safe as well, so that they can provide care,” said Dr. Keith Norman, a local pastor and vice president of government affairs with Baptist Memorial Health Care.
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Roofers Larry Dennis (left) and Glenn Janes (right) descend a latter after checking the roof of a vacant rental property in Gateway Shopping Center on Thursday, April 2, 2020. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will build a temporary hospital of non-acute beds at the shopping center to help deal with the expected coming surge in COVID-19 cases (Mark Weber/Daily Memphian)
Over the past week, preparing for the surge has taken on the greatest urgency.
Even the most conservative forecasts suggest that Shelby County’s health care system will need:
- More space for more hospital beds.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is building a temporary hospital that will provide 1,000 non-acute beds at Gateway Shopping Center on Jackson Avenue.
Officials believe they can squeeze in an extra 1,000 beds into existing hospitals.
If more beds are needed, other options include opening temporary facilities at the Fairgrounds, in other empty buildings or in large tents.
“Given at the rate that the peak may be coming, as soon as we identify the site for the alternative care, or the sites, we will begin the build-out,” McGowen said last week.
“We are not going to wait.”
- More ICU beds and ventilators.
ICU beds require adding more ventilators and monitors to regular rooms.
Tennessee heath officials have ordered 570 additional ventilators and plan to dole them out as needed across the state.
Hospitals also might use anesthesia ventilators and non-invasive CPAP and BiPAP machines when they are medically appropriate.
- More personal protective equipment, or PPEs, such as face masks, gloves and gowns.
The Memphis Medical Society and the health department have put out a call for donations from the public, especially those who work in construction, HVAC and dentistry and commonly use PPEs.
Dave Myers (left), Ernest McCracken and Rich Thompson (right) with the Midsouth Makers donate their time to assemble face shields for the Memphis Medical Society on March 29, 2020. The group of tinkerers used 3-D printers to create the frame and a laser cutter to make a matching transparent shield. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
The University of Memphis, among other technology centers, has been using 3D equipment to produce 10,000 face shields.
More than 100 inmates at Tennessee Department of Correction facilities have volunteered to use donated materials to make masks and other PPEs.
Radians, a Memphis company that manufactures PPE’s, has donated more than 14,000 N95 masks.
“With a worldwide shortage of respirator masks, we knew this donation would quickly assist first responders and health care workers as they help Memphis rise above the COVID-19 crisis,” Radians CEO Mike Tutor told the Daily Memphian.
- More health care workers — especially pulmonologists, respiratory therapists, anesthesiologists, surgeons and nurses.
Local hospitals have been postponing elective surgeries and taking other steps to reduce demands on doctors and nurses so they can handle COVID-19 cases.
Hospital officials are talking about doubling the normal number of patients per physician from 20 to 40.
Local officials are working with UTHSC to recruit residents and medical students to handle lower-level care.
State and local officials are recruiting previously furloughed and retired doctors, nurses and aides to come back to work to meet the surge.
Gov. Lee issued an order last month to make it easier for retired medical professionals to return to work.
The number of retired nurses seeking to renew their licenses tripled in March, said Tina Gerardi, Tennessee Nurses Association.
“What we’re preparing for is that worst-case scenario,” Lisa Piercey, commissioner of the state department of health, explained.
The worst-case scenario is that the surge isn’t delayed or flattened. That the number of people who get infected and need medical care overwhelms the hospital system.
That’s what happened in Italy. That’s what has happened in New York City.
“Then there becomes really serious ethical dilemmas,” Haushalter told the Daily Memphian last week. “If you have limited bed capacity, who gets that bed and who does not? Who gets that ventilator and who does not?”
Editor’s Note: The Daily Memphian is making our coronavirus coverage accessible to all readers — no subscription needed. Our journalists continue to work around the clock to provide you with the extensive coverage you need; if you can subscribe, please do.
COVID-19 in Memphis and Shelby County: April
Jonathan Magallanes (left), Argentina Uceda and Eleida Gallegos prepare take-out orders as the popular Germantown eatery Las Tortugas reopens on April 28, 2020, with curbside service. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
Nate Franklin stretches out during a short break close to the midway point of his solo marathon in East Memphis on April 25, 2020, where family and friends gathered to cheer him on his way. Franklin was supposed to run a marathon when coronavirus got in the way, but the undaunted runner decided to run his own route. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
National Guard medics collect nasal swabs as hundreds of Memphians line up for COVID-19 testing at the Christ Community testing site in Frayser on April 25, 2020. For the first time, testing is being made available to residents not showing symptoms of the disease. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
Architect Jason Jackson of brg3s works on his laptop backyard while entertaining his son Oliver in his East Memphis April 24, 2020. Jackson is but one of many people now working from home. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
Andy B's bowling and entertainment center general manager Traci Sanchez disinfects bowling balls on April 24, 2020 as part of a strict cleaning regimen. Sanchez says her staff has been cleaning since they closed, and that they are mostly ready to reopen when official word comes down. They expect big crowds upon reopening, and plan to temperature check all patrons. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
George Gattas of Gattas Home Innovations sets up the sound system to accompany a 4k projector he’s installing in an East Memphis home on April 23, 2020. The coronavirus pandemic has forced George Gattas’ new business into hyperdrive, the workload increasing during the crisis as more people are working from home. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
A lone passenger checks the flight information display system at Memphis International Airport on Thursday, April 23. The display showed roughly two dozen canceled flights. Memphis International Airport officials are exploring moving all passenger airlines to a single concourse to save money during the air travel shutdown caused by coronavirus. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
Memphis Little League President Kerry Cobb pulls a pitching machine from a storage container on Wednesday, April 22, 2020, at Will Carruthers Park. The league has had a tough fight to keep baseball going in an urban environment. Now, league founder Cobb, a former University of Memphis football player, worries that kids new to the game will fall away as the season is put on hold by the COVID-19 pandemic. (Mark Weber/Daily Memphian)
Blind Bear Speakeasy owner Jeannette Comans stands outside her club in downtown Memphis on April 19, 2020, with Jared Dover (back left), Abraham Washington (doorway) and Aaron Kruszyinsky (far right), members of her staff who have come back to work. She was able to get a loan to help her business to stay afloat during the coronavirus outbreak, however she has not been able to get all of her employees to come back. (Karen Pulfer Focht/Special to The Daily Memphian)
Students from St. George's Institute for Citizenship adhere to social distancing guidelines while handing off homemade sandwiches on Thursday, April 23, 2020 at The Shops of Saddle Creek. Every week the students make sandwiches that are delivered to St. Vincent de Paul's Food Mission. (Mark Weber/Daily Memphian)
Christ Community Health Services staff members Blake Chastain (left) and Derico Miller (right) set up a drive-thru COVID-19 testing site on April 17, 2020, in the Mendenhall Square Shopping Center. Christ Community will be opening virus testing sites in low-income areas of Memphis starting the weekend of April 18. (Mark Weber/Daily Memphian)
Memphis Housing Authority resident Roscoe Wells puts on a donated face mask on Thursday, April 23, 2020 at Dr. R.Q. Venson Center Apartments. On Wednesday, Ronald and Carolyn Kent, (left) co-owners of the Chow Time and China Inn restaurants, with partners King and Jasmine Chow, (right) donated 10,000 masks to the MHA. (Mark Weber/Daily Memphian)
Medical technicians and nurses collect samples as staff from Cherokee Health and Kroger team up to offer a limited 3-day run of free drive-thru COVID-19 testing for people with symptoms, healthcare workers and first responders in the parking lot at the Memphis Business Academy in Frayser on April 22, 2020. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
A Memphis Police officer directs traffic as staff from Cherokee Health and Kroger team up to offer a limited 3-day run of free drive-thru COVID-19 testing for people with symptoms, healthcare workers and first responders in the parking lot at the Memphis Business Academy in Frayser on April 22, 2020. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
Michale Kruckman (center) hits from the fairway while playing a game of Texas skins as golfers return to the Links at Whitehaven golf course on April 18, 2020, on a trial basis to test whether golfers would adhere to social distancing requirements during play. Only one person was permitted per cart and golfers were not allowed to handle the flag. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
Lou Albonetti (right) reacts to a missed putt while Bill Sheppard (left) and Ray Duncan watch on from the edge of the green as golfers return to the Links at Whitehaven golf course on April 18, 2020, on a trial basis to test whether golfers would adhere to social distancing requirements during play. Only one person was permitted per cart and golfers were not allowed to handle the flag. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
On April 17, Britton DeWeese drops of dozens of boxes of Gibson’s doughnuts at chef Kelly English’s Second Line restaurant to be added to the care packages English is putting together for workers on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic.(Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
Christ Community Health Services staff members set up a drive-thru COVID-19 testing site on April 17, 2020, in the Mendenhall Square Shopping Center. Christ Community will be opening virus testing sites in low-income areas of Memphis starting the weekend of April 18. (Mark Weber/Daily Memphian)
Amy Lovinelli loads up a yard sign in the trunk of a St. Benedict Academy class of 2020 parent while picking up their child’s cap and gown April 17, 2020. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
Sondra Morris hands out the cap and gown to a class of 2020 senior's parents at St. Benedict at Auburndale High School April 17, 2020. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
Savannah Sauceda tries on a mask as inmates at the Shelby County Correctional Center learn how to make fabric masks on April, 17, 2020, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. They have one sewing machine now, but Corrections Division Director Anthony Alexander said they hope to have 10 machines up and running soon to produce several hundred masks a week for staff, inmates and community partners like the YWCA. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
Corrections program specialist Gloria Phillips shows a finished product as inmates at the Shelby County Correctional Center learn how to make fabric masks on April, 17, 2020, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
Jesus Limones cleans and sanitizes the office of Michael Morgan at Indigo Plaza April 16, 2020. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
Burke’s Bookstore owners Corey and Cheryl Mesler stand among their books on Thursday, April 16, 2020, in Cooper-Young. The bookstore has been open since 1875, and is now hand-delivering books to customers. (Mark Weber/Daily Memphian)
Realtor Donnie Chambliss with Crye-Leike starts his Facebook Live open house tour Sunday, April 19, 2020 in Olive Branch, Mississippi. The corona virus has forced virtual open houses for real estate agents to show and sell homes. (Greg Campbell/Special for The Daily Memphian)
Buster’s owner Josh Hammond delivers an order of beer for pickup on Thursday, April 16, 2020. Buster’s has taken its business totally online since the implementation social distancing guidelines after coronavirus outbreak. Costumers now pay online and can pick up their order curbside. (Mark Weber/Daily Memphian)
Memphians (some masked) go about their business on the Main Street mall on April 16, 2020. New numbers by Unicast, a company that uses cell phone data to track human mobility, suggest that Shelby County residents aren’t doing enough social distancing. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
Buster’s employee Chris Miller fills online alcohol orders on Thursday, April 16, 2020. Buster’s has taken its business totally online since the implementation social distancing guidelines after the coronavirus outbreak. (Mark Weber/Daily Memphian)
A normally crowded Beale Street sits empty April 15, 2020. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
Beverly Robinson (right, pink shirt) works on the hair of her daughter Kensley Robinson, 10, as her other daughter Kentara Robinson, 17, (middle) and granddaughters Krystal Cole, 8 (second left), and Kelsey Robinson, 5, play on their phones or dance in their Hickory Hill apartment on Wednesday, April 15, 2020. In Shelby County, 71% of those who test positive for COVID-19 are African Americans. (Mark Weber/Daily Memphian)
The Shelby County Health Department is working with seven long-term care facilities with coronavirus outbreaks, including Parkway Health and Rehabilitation (shown here) in South Memphis, which has reported 8 residents and 2 staff members infected with the virus. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
John Kavach, (left) Director of Fig Tree Emergency Services, and Shannon Privett (right), a case manager with Catholic Charities of West Tennessee, load up frozen meats on Wednesday, April 15, 2020. Privett will help deliverer the meals and supplies to 160 formerly homeless families. (Mark Weber/Daily Memphian)
Catholic Charities of West Tennessee Executive Director Kelley Henderson (middle) helps case manager Shannon Privett (left) load a car with spaghetti diners donated from Pete and Sam’s restaurant on Wednesday, April 15, 2020. Pete and Sam’s donated 560 meals to be part of care packages delivered to 160 formerly homeless families. Some of the donated meals will also be handed out to several area churches, which also help feed needy and homeless families. (Mark Weber/Daily Memphian)
Heights CDC director Jared Meyers (right) helps with maintenance at Treadwell Park on April 15, 2020. The Heights CDC is struggling to maintain a full workforce even as it launches a COVID-19 response fund to help neighborhood residents struggling to pay bills. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
Sheldon Green of the Heights CDC cleans weeds out of the walking path while performing maintenance at Treadwell Park on April 15, 2020. The Heights CDC is struggling to maintain a full workforce even as it launches a COVID-19 response fund to help neighborhood residents struggling to pay bills. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
Hans Guenther sits on his back porch in Germantown on April 14, 2020. Despite living an active lifestyle, the 62-year-old contracted COVID-19 and had to be hospitalized. Now, home and fully recovered, Guenther hopes to donate his plasma with the hopes of saving lives. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
Crystal Brown (left), who screens all patients at the Cherokee Healthcare clinic in Frayser, takes David Stokes' temperature on April, 14, 2020. The clinic is providing COVID-19 testing in the neighborhood for current and new patients. The Cherokee clinic has set aside a designated space and PPE for healthcare workers to cope with patients who are showing virus symptoms. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
Tangie Jones helps patients with their prescriptions and health concerns on the telehealth desk at the Cherokee Healthcare clinic in Frayser on April, 14, 2020. The clinic is providing COVID-19 testing in the neighborhood for current and new patients. The Cherokee clinic has set aside a designated space and PPE for healthcare workers to cope with patients who are showing virus symptoms. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
Fresh Market customers were asked to wear face masks when entering the store starting Tuesday, April 14, 2020. (Mark Weber/Daily Memphian)
A doctor prepares to swab a patient at Christ Community Health's drive-thru COVID-19 testing site in Whitehaven on April 13, 2020. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
A doctor pulls out a fresh testing swab before administering a COVID-19 test at Christ Community Health's drive-thru COVID-19 testing site in Whitehaven on April 13, 2020. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
A doctor jokes with a patent at Christ Community Health's drive-thru COVID-19 testing site in Whitehaven on April 13, 2020. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
A health care worker reminds patients to blow their noses before getting tested at Christ Community Health's drive-thru COVID-19 testing site in Whitehaven on April 13, 2020. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
Health care workers get creative with an oversized vehicle at Christ Community Health's drive-thru COVID-19 testing site in Whitehaven on April 13, 2020. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
The Village of Germantown front entrance on Monday, April 13, 2020. Five facility residents and two employees have tested positive for COVID-19. (Mark Weber/Daily Memphian)
Oak Hall seamstress Susan Nguyen stitches face mask from new shirts and donated materials on Monday, April 13, 2020. Oak Hall sold 1,200 mask in the first 12 hours of the sale. For every mask they sell, they are donating one to Church Health. (Mark Weber/Daily Memphian)
Oak Hall employee Priscilla Willis steams face masks made from new shirts and donated materials on Monday, April 13, 2020. Oak Hall sold 1,200 mask in the first 12 hours of the sale. For every mask they sell, they are donating one to Church Health. (Mark Weber/Daily Memphian)
Oak Hall employee Sophie Williamson cuts mask patterns from a new shirts and donated materials on Monday, April 13, 2020. Oak Hall sold 1,200 mask in the first 12 hours of the sale. For every mask they sell, they are donating one to Church Health. (Mark Weber/Daily Memphian)
The Reverend Wayne Gillard II preaches to empty pews Sunday morning during a Facebook Live Easter sermon at Monument of Love Church in Orange Mound on April 12, 2020. (Ziggy Mack/Special to Daily Memphian)
Pastor Derrick Joyce enjoys the music during Facebook Live Easter sermon amidst empty church pews inside Monument of Love Church in Orange Mound on Sunday, April 12, 2020. (Ziggy Mack/Special to Daily Memphian)
Sharon Green operates the camera during a Facebook Live Easter sermon amidst empty church pews inside Monument of Love Church in Orange Mound on Sunday, April 12, 2020. (Ziggy Mack/Special to Daily Memphian)
Scott Briggs shovels mulch out of the back of his borrowed truck while planting hydrangeas at a client's home in East Memphis on April 11, 2020. Briggs is a laid off bartender who, rather than pulling unemployment, decided to start a lawn care business called Laid Off Lawncare, which has exploded with business during its first two weeks. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
Volunteer bunny J.D. McMillian checks out an Easter greeting in sidewalk chalk as Germantown Parks and Recreation helps local kids get their their big-bunny-fix in an era of social distancing. The parks depatment drives the Easter Bunny around several Germantown neighborhoods on April 11, 2020, to visit over 200 families who signed up on Facebook. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
Ned Stroup, 4, dances his way down the driveway as Germantown Parks and Recreation helps local kids get their big-bunny-fix in an era of social distancing by driving the Easter Bunny, played by volunteer J.D. McMillian, around several Germantown neighborhoods on April 11, 2020, to visit over 200 families who signed up on Facebook. As part of the event, kids were encouraged to show their best dance moves while the rabbit played a mix of music including (but not limited to) hip-hop. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
Volunteer bunny J.D. McMillian hydrates before a long truck ride as Germantown Parks and Recreation helps local kids get their big-bunny-fix in an era of social distancing by driving the Easter Bunny, played by volunteer J.D. McMillan, around several Germantown neighborhoods on April 11, 2020, to visit over 200 families who signed up for a visit on Facebook. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
A worker at the Memphis Botanic Gardens looks over an order for Jimmie Quick Saturday, April 11, 2020. This year's Spring Plant Sale at the Garden was changed to online order and drive-up pick-up. (Greg Campbell/Special for The Daily Memphian)
Matthew Davis picks up his order from this year's Annual Plant at the Garden at the Memphis Botanic Gardens Saturday, April 11, 2020. This year's sale was done online with pickup at the Garden. (Greg Campbell/Special for The Daily Memphian)
A doctor prepares to test a patient for COVID-19 at the drive-thru testing facility at Tiger Lane April 10, 2020. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
St. Francis Hospital-Memphis nurses, including Deonta Buck (middle), raise their hands in praise while attending a prayer vigil in the hospital parking lot for patients and staff on Monday, April 6, 2020. (Mark Weber/Daily Memphian)
Nancy Dawson (right) raisers her hand in praise with family members while attending a prayer vigil in the hospital parking lot for patients and staff on Monday, April 6, 2020. (Mark Weber/Daily Memphian)
While St. Francis Hospital-Memphis staff member Dayrl Moore (middle left) preaches, Julie Abell, (left) Bill Wilson (middle right) and Vicki Wilson wave their hands in praise during a prayer vigil in the hospital parking lot for patients and staff on Monday, April 6, 2020. (Mark Weber/Daily Memphian)
Stephanie Lepone takes a box of N95 masks from Jill Stockburger outside her East Memphis home April 6, 2020. Lepone, along with roughly 400 other volunteers, agreed to help fix some 20,000 masks Baptist Hospital found that were in need of new elastic straps. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
Rachel Robb struggles to get her son Psyler Robb, 3, into proper piggy-back riding position while walking the dog Drama with her husband Matthew Robb (left) at Shelby Farms as Memphians practice social distancing during workouts, dog walks and bike rides either alone or in small groups on April 4, 2020 after concerns over reports of people congregating in city parks, caused Mayor Jim Strickland to issue new restrictions this week. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
William Reynolds of Bartlett protects himself while walking at Shelby Farms as Memphians practice social distancing during workouts, dog walks and bike rides either alone or in small groups on April 4, 2020 after concerns over reports of people congregating in city parks, caused Mayor Jim Strickland to issue new restrictions this week. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
Laurie Moorhead works on one of the hundreds of homemade masks she has sewn inside her Collierville home while her dog Auggie watches from the window. Moorhead, a retired school teacher who loves to sew, has made nearly 500 masks so far. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
A Memphis Police officer directs traffic at a University of Tennessee Health Science Center and Shelby County Health Department drive-thru testing site for COVID-19 on Monday, April 6, 2020, at the Memphis Fairgrounds. (Mark Weber/Daily Memphian)
A PST officer keeps an eye on the barricaded entrance to Overton Park as Memphians practice social distancing during workouts, dog walks and bike rides either alone or in small groups on April 4, 2020 after concerns over reports of people congregating in city parks, caused Mayor Jim Strickland to issue new restrictions this week. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
KIPP Memphis Collegiate High maintenance man Antoine Shotwell cleans floors at the school on Friday, April 3, 2020. Cleaning crews have worked to disinfect the school in anticipation that students will return to school at the end of the month. Due to the need for social distancing created by the coronavirus outbreak students have been competing the studies from home. (Mark Weber/Daily Memphian)
KIPP Memphis Collegiate High teachers (left to right) Caitlyn Kennedy, James Aycock and Will Redmond disinfect several hundred laptops on Friday, April 3, 2020. The laptops will be distributed to students, as they continue their education from home, after the need for social distancing due to the coronavirus outbreak shut down school. (Mark Weber/Daily Memphian)
KIPP Memphis Collegiate High teachers Caitlyn Kennedy (right) and Will Redmond disinfect several hundred laptops on Friday, April 3, 2020. The laptops will be distributed to students, as they continue their education from home, after the need for social distancing due to the coronavirus outbreak shut down school. (Mark Weber/Daily Memphian)
Keith Norman, Baptist’s vice president of Government Affairs takes pictures of a vacant rental property in Gateway Shopping Center on Thursday, April 2, 2020. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will build a temporary hospital of non-acute beds at the shopping center to help deal with the expected coming surge in COVID-19 cases (Mark Weber/Daily Memphian)
KIPP Memphis Collegiate High teachers (left to right) James Aycock, Will Redmond and Caitlyn Kennedy disinfect several hundred laptops on Friday, April 3, 2020. The laptops will be distributed to students, as they continue their education from home, after the need for social distancing due to the coronavirus outbreak shut down school. (Mark Weber/Daily Memphian)
Rebecca Fava applies a logo to one of the cloth masks she has been decorating with Memphis themes and selling in her Southaven home office on April 3, 2020. Fava says she has a backlog of 50 masks, but has a shipment coming in from California to be adorned. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
Peabody Hotel Spa Manager Katie Williams performs double duty as she sanitizes the common areas inside Peabody Hotel in Downtown Memphis on April 3, 2020. (Ziggy Tucker/Special to the Daily Memphian)
Traveling FedEx pilot Scott Thorpe returns to Peabody Hotel lobby after a run in Downtown Memphis on April 3, 2020. (Ziggy Tucker/Special to the Daily Memphian)
Mid-South Food Bank volunteer Ann Rhodes grabs an arm full of baby supplies during a food distribution event Wednesday, April 1, 2020 on E. Georgia Ave. The mobile pantry provided household goods, food and baby supplies to nearly 300 families. (Mark Weber/ The Daily Memphian)
Carol Webb covers her face with a mask while attending the Mid-South Food Bank mobile pantry event Wednesday, April 1, 2020 on E. Georgia Ave. (Mark Weber/ The Daily Memphian)
Roofers Larry Dennis (left) and Glenn Janes (right) descend a latter after checking the roof of a vacant rental property in Gateway Shopping Center on Thursday, April 2, 2020. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will build a temporary hospital of non-acute beds at the shopping center to help deal with the expected coming surge in COVID-19 cases (Mark Weber/Daily Memphian)
Mid-South Food Bank volunteer Anne Mark (middle) directs traffic during a food distribution event Wednesday, April 1, 2020 on E. Georgia Ave. The mobile pantry provided household goods, food and baby supplies to nearly 300 families. (Mark Weber/ The Daily Memphian)
Mid-South Food Bank volunteer Paulita Edmonson (middle) places supplies in a car during a food distribution event Wednesday, April 1, 2020 on E. Georgia Ave. The mobile pantry provided household goods, food and baby supplies to nearly 300 families. (Mark Weber/ The Daily Memphian)
Staff and students from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center work with the Shelby County Health Department on Wednesday, April 1, 2020, to continue drive-thru testing for COVID-19 at the Memphis Fairgrounds. (Mark Weber/ The Daily Memphian)
Mid-South Food Bank volunteers had out supplies to need families during a food distribution event Wednesday, April 1, 2020 on E. Georgia Ave. The mobile pantry provided household goods, food and baby supplies to nearly 300 families. (Mark Weber/ The Daily Memphian)
Staff and students from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center work with the Shelby County Health Department on Wednesday, April 1, 2020, to continue drive-thru testing for COVID-19 at the Memphis Fairgrounds. (Mark Weber/ The Daily Memphian)
A women covers her face with a scarf while attending the Mid-South Food Bank mobile pantry event Wednesday, April 1, 2020 on E. Georgia Ave. (Mark Weber/ The Daily Memphian)
Staff and students from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center work with the Shelby County Health Department on Wednesday, April 1, 2020, to continue drive-thru testing for COVID-19 at the Memphis Fairgrounds. (Mark Weber/ The Daily Memphian)
An elderly resident returns home with help from a relative on April 1, 2020, at the Carriage Court assisted living facility in East Memphis where five residents and an employee tested positive for COVID-19. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
At the Carriage Court assisted living facility in East Memphis five residents and an employee tested positive for COVID-19. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
Shelby County Health Department Director Alisa Haushalter (right) attends a press conference on the coronavirus outbreak on Wednesday, April 1, 2020. (Mark Weber/Daily Memphian) (Mark Weber/ The Daily Memphian)
Jordan Badgett (left), Kat Gordon and Bridget Carratt joke around in the kitchen as the staff at Muddy's bake their way through the remainder of their supplies during a big temporarily-closing, April Fool's Day sale and costume party all rolled into one at the Muddy's Bakery on Broad Avenue on April 1, 2020.(Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
Muddy's Bakery owner Kat Gordon greets customers as the staff at Muddy's bake their way through the remainder of their supplies during a big temporarily-closing, April Fool's Day sale and costume party all rolled into one at the Muddy's Bakery on Broad Avenue on April 1, 2020.(Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
Roommates Jessye Heyrana (left) and Abbey Plantz joke around in line while waiting to stock up on chicken pot pies and cookies as the staff at Muddy's bake their way through the remainder of their supplies during a big temporarily-closing, April Fool's Day sale and costume party all rolled into one at the Muddy's Bakery on Broad Avenue on April 1, 2020.(Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
Constance Abbey community member Chris Murray (right) discourages his dog Constance from barking during the evening Bible service while Shamont Coon (left) reads scripture on April 2, 2020 at Constance Abbey where the Memphis homeless community comes for food, laundry, showers and other services. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
Constance Abbey co-founder Roger Wolcott runs between the two houses helping folks from the Memphis homeless community to get set up with food, laundry, showers and other services during a busy morning on April 2, 2020. Since COVID-19 social distancing,the Wolcotts have seen an uptick in traffic at Constance Abbey as many churches close their doors for social distancing and other homeless facilities cut back to minimize spreading the virus. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
Constance Abbey community member Michael Smith tries to get the last out of the jam jar while making PP&J sandwiches for hungry homeless at the Downtown charity on April2, 2020. Since COVID-19 social distancing, Roger and Margery Wolcott are seeing an uptick in traffic at Constance Abbey where the Memphis homeless community comes for food, laundry, showers and other services. The increase is due to churches closing doors for social distancing and also other homeless facilities cutting back to minimize spreading the virus. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
A lone passenger checks the flight information display system with roughly two dozen canceled flights at the Memphis International Airport April 23, 2020. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
Memphis homeless stop by at Constance Abbey for a morning cup of coffee on April, 2, 2020. Since COVID-19 social distancing, Roger and Margery Wolcott, who run the charity, are seeing an uptick in traffic. The increase is due to churches closing doors for social distancing and also other homeless facilities cutting back to minimize spreading the virus. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
Constance Abbey co-founder Margery Wolcott greets one of her 'neighbors' in as safe a fashion as possible since the advent of COVID-19 social distancing on April, 2, 2020. Constance Abbey is seeing an uptick in traffic as many churches close their doors for social distancing and other homeless facilities cut back to minimize spreading the virus. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
Constance Abbey co-founder Margery Wolcott (left) checks in with fellow Constance Abbey community member Shamont Coon while he folds laundry at the front door on April 2, 2020. Since COVID-19 social distancing, Roger and Margery Wolcott are seeing an uptick in traffic at Constance Abbey where the Memphis homeless community comes for food, laundry, showers and other services. The increase is due to churches closing doors for social distancing and also other homeless facilities cutting back to minimize spreading the virus. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
Shelby County Health Department health officer Dr. Bruce Randolph strongly states, that any business not adhering to social distancing guidelines will be shut down during coronavirus outbreak press conference on Friday, April 3, 2020. (Mark Weber/Daily Memphian)
Brad Perkins works out at Beale Street Landing with his wife, Hayley (not pictured), as Memphians practice social distancing walking, working out and relaxing either alone or in small groups on April 4, 2020 after concerns over reports of people congregating in city parks, caused Mayor Jim Strickland to issue new restrictions this week. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
Ranger Kelsey Price swaps out signs at the Farm Road entrance to Shelby Farms as Memphians practice social distancing during workouts, dog walks and bike rides either alone or in small groups on April 4, 2020 after concerns over reports of people congregating in city parks, caused Mayor Jim Strickland to issue new restrictions this week. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
Tammie Echols and her son Torrence Echols, 8, pass by the barricaded entrance to Overton Park during a walk as Memphians practice social distancing during workouts, dog walks and bike rides either alone or in small groups on April 4, 2020 after concerns over reports of people congregating in city parks, caused Mayor Jim Strickland to issue new restrictions this week. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
Ian Hill relaxes with his daughters Abigail (left) and Lucy at Shelby Farms as Memphians practice social distancing during workouts, dog walks and bike rides either alone or in small groups on April 4, 2020 after concerns over reports of people congregating in city parks, caused Mayor Jim Strickland to issue new restrictions this week. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
Rachel Dawson, 17, (left) prays in the back seat with her family while attending a prayer vigil in the hospital parking lot for patients and staff on Monday, April 6, 2020. (Mark Weber/Daily Memphian)
Event organizer Julie Abell (middle) waves at patients' windows while attending a prayer vigil in the hospital parking lot for patients and staff on Monday, April 6, 2020. (Mark Weber/Daily Memphian)
Kelley Brown (top) attends a prayer vigil for patients and staff in the St. Francis Hospital-Memphis parking lot on Monday, April 6, 2020. (Mark Weber/Daily Memphian)
Inez Todd waves her hands in praise while attending a prayer vigil in the hospital parking lot for patients and staff on Monday, April 6, 2020. (Mark Weber/Daily Memphian)
St. Francis Hospital-Memphis nurses and staff attend a prayer vigil in the parking lot for patients on Monday, April 6, 2020. (Mark Weber/Daily Memphian)
An Old Dominick Distillery employee pours a fresh batch of hand sanitizer into six-ounce bottles April 7, 2020. The sanitizer is being produced at the Downtown distillery thanks to an emergency resolution from the Shelby County Commission. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
An Old Dominick employee packages bottles of hand sanitizer for the city's low-income and homeless population April 7,2020. The sanitizer is being produced at the Downtown distillery thanks to an emergency resolution from the Shelby County Commission. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
Two doctors work to take a sample from a possible COVID-19 patient at UTHSC’s Tiger Lane¬ testing site April 10, 2020. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
A UTHSC doctor swabs a patient during a drive-thru COVID-19 test at Tiger Lane April 10, 2020. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
A member of the Cathedral of Praise church lowers his mask to receive communion during the church's Good Friday Drive-Thru Communion service April 10, 2020. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
Individual communion packets were handed out to parishioners of the Cathedral of Praise during the church's Good Friday Drive-Thru Communion service April 10, 2020. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
Stephanie Scoot hands out individual communion packets to parishioners of the Cathedral of Praise's Good Friday Drive-Thru Communion April 10, 2020. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
A doctor waves a possible COVID-19 patient in for testing at UTHSC’s Tiger Lane¬ testing site April 10, 2020. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
A doctor holds a walkie talkie wrapped in a surgical glove up to a Spanish-speaking patient so one of his collogues can translate at UTHSC’s Tiger Lane testing site April 10, 2020. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
Bianca Stitts runs down the hill at Beale Street Landing carting her sister Jameka Barr during a workout as Memphians practice social distancing while walking the dog, working out and relaxing either alone or in small groups on April 4, 2020 after concerns over reports of people congregating in city parks, caused Mayor Jim Strickland to issue new restrictions this week. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
Chris Foster, lead pastor of the Cathedral of Praise church, blesses a parishoners car during his church's Good Friday Drive-Thru Communion service April 10, 2020. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
Shelby County Health Department health officer Dr. Bruce Randolph speaks during a press conference on the coronavirus outbreak on Wednesday, April 1, 2020. (Mark Weber/Daily Memphian)
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee thanks Memphians sitting in line to be tested for COVID-19 by National Guard Medics during a visit to the Christ Community testing site in Frayser on April 25, 2020. For the first time, local testing is being made available to residents not showing symptoms of the disease. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
Christ Community staff, medical technicians and National Guard medics prepare to start a long day of COVID-19 testing as hundreds of Memphians line up at the Christ Community testing site in Frayser on April 25, 2020. For the first time, testing is being made available to residents not showing symptoms of the disease. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
National Guard medics collect nasal swabs as hundreds of Memphians line up for COVID-19 testing at the Christ Community testing site in Frayser on April 25, 2020. For the first time, testing is being made available to residents not showing symptoms of the disease. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
National Guard medics collect nasal swabs as hundreds of Memphians line up for COVID-19 testing at the Christ Community testing site in Frayser on April 25, 2020. For the first time, testing is being made available to residents not showing symptoms of the disease. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
National Guard medics collect nasal swabs as hundreds of Memphians line up for COVID-19 testing at the Christ Community testing site in Frayser on April 25, 2020. For the first time, testing is being made available to residents not showing symptoms of the disease. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
Memphis Housing Authority resident Constance Lloyd (middle) sings paperwork while receiving a donated face mask on Thursday, April 23, 2020 at Dr. R.Q. Venson Center Apartments. (Mark Weber/Daily Memphian)
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