New Health Department directive has a few new rules for full-service restaurants and allows a check of food versus alcohol sales.

EDGE awarded a $20,000 NEED grant to Summit Management Corp., which runs the annual Southern Heritage Classic. To date, EDGE has awarded $584,200 to 103 businesses; 83 of those (81%) are minority and women-owned businesses. 

Collierville is expected to make changes to its school reopening plan. The changes are based on recommendations from the Shelby County Health Department.

On Friday, the Shelby County Health Department reported a daily positivity rate of 16.4%. 

Most diners are complying with Health Directive 8 and giving their names and numbers at restaurants, but Jiminy Cricket! Some just won’t do it.

We curse them, criticize them and (sometimes even) flip them the bird. On National Drive-Thru Day, let's hear it for the front-line workers who see us at our worst.

Even though Republican governors are mandating masks and President Donald Trump has begun calling them "patriotic," Gov. Bill Lee continues to decline requiring face coverings statewide.

The president says the university is lucky it doesn't have many classes with a large-lecture format. 

City of Memphis COO Doug McGowen said the local COVID-19 task force is in search of a “testing czar” to look at coronavirus testing in Shelby County.

Shelby County’s overall positivity rate of coronavirus tests has increased yet again; the number is now 9.8%. Today's positivity rate is 18.4%.

Shelby County, from July 8-22, averaged 342 new cases a day, 2,350 test results and a 14.6% positivity rate, according to Shelby County Health Department data.

A person attending an event with 10 attendees in Shelby County currently has a 40% chance of encountering someone COVID-positive at that event. 

Pinnacle granted payment deferrals on $4.4 billion in loans and issued $2.2 billion in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans to customers affected by the pandemic.

Argument continues on the value of live vaccines to stimulate the immune system in the fight against COVID-19; there is no randomized study yet to prove it.

In recent weeks, local testing capacity went from being underutilized to the new stance issued by the joint Memphis and Shelby County COVID-19 task force Tuesday.

“There is incredibly limited access for asymptomatic patients,” said Jenny Bartlett-Prescott, who is coordinating community testing efforts for the Memphis and Shelby County Joint COVID-19 Task Force.

On Tuesday, July 21, the Shelby County Health Department reported 211 new coronavirus cases (from 1,862 tests) and no additional deaths.

University Schools — Campus School and University Middle — have announced they will go all-virtual instead of the hybrid plan it previously released to parents.

The Lee Administration is making $115 million in federal funds available to local governments to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Shelby County’s 304 new coronavirus cases come from 1,678 tests, a positivity rate of 18.1%. 

As leaders around the country make decisions based on wishful thinking, Rhodes College postponed on-campus eduction for the fall semester because it determined it could not safely bring students, faculty and employees back to campus. "It’s about setting your values and having the courage of your convictions," said president Marjorie Hass. If only more leaders would do the same. 

Memphis/Shelby County made progress in the struggle against COVID-19, coming out of a Safer at Home order and advancing into a Phase 2 reopening. But Phase 2 has been modified, cases have spiked again, and there remain major concerns going forward, including whether or not elementary and secondary schools can reopen in the fall. 

Porch & Parlor closed after employees tested positive for COVID-19; owner says he'll reopen when it's safe.

ICU capacity in the region is at 89%, slightly less than prior days. The Health Department reports there are 48 beds available.

Do the experts wear masks? Eat out? Sanitize their mail and groceries? Let their kids join protests or send them to school? We asked.