While area nonprofits have felt the strain of the COVID-19 pandemic, Memphis has lived up to its reputation as a “giving” city and help also has come from national funding sources. 

A temporary $300 per week supplemental jobless benefit and a $600 direct stimulus payment to most Americans is part of the pact. 

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee again refused to order a statewide mask mandate Sunday, Dec. 20, instead ordering a statewide limit on indoor public social gatherings of no more than 10 people excluding homes and churches.

Shoppers grabbed holiday essentials and last-minute items as a Safer at Home order looms.

The first truckload of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine destined for U.S. administration sites rolled into the FedEx Express world hub in Memphis about 9:45 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 20.

Shelby County Health Department reported 510 new cases and an additional six deaths in Sunday’s daily coronavirus report.

From Dec. 5 to Dec. 19, the Health Department reported an average of 691 new cases and 6,093 test results each day with a 11.3% positivity rate. One hundred thirty-two coronavirus-related deaths have been reported since Dec. 1. That represents 16.4% of all pandemic deaths in Shelby County. 

Domestic violence has exploded this year locally and across the country since the novel coronavirus struck – a pandemic within a pandemic that’s filled police blotters with a spike in accounts of extreme brutality.

FedEx said Saturday, Dec. 19, it’s ready to start moving the Moderna vaccine for COVID-19.

The 21 deaths reported Saturday range from Nov. 11 to Dec. 15, according to the Health Department. This follows the 23 deaths reported Friday. With the 44 new deaths in the past two days, Shelby County has surpassed the 800 mark. 

A new health directive is looming – one that could significantly tighten restrictions for the upcoming holidays.

On Thursday, the Frayser Exchange Club awarded Steve Lockwood its 2020 Community Service Award. He’s credited in helping turnaround one of the city’s worst housing markets during the past decade. 

Several dozens activists and organizers working for Democratic candidates in the 2020 elections have drafted a “roadmap to renewal” for the state party. A Memphis organizer talks about the roadmap on The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast. The recommendations come as the party prepares to elect a new statewide leader in January.

Staffer snaps, edits the thrill on her iPhone to snappy “My Shot” from Hamilton. 

Leaders implore citizens, particularly those of color, to gather virtually for the holiday.

The Memphis In May International Festival is calling off the Beale Street Music Festival in May as the Memphis City Council considers urging a Christmas week “safer at home” order. 

The Shelby County Health Department reported 625 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, Dec. 18. 

Chick-fil-A looks to be landing at the airport, Bill Dries is remembering The Jar, and Maker’s Mark helps Ripley get lit.

The council approved the financing for a $62 million set of five Downtown parking projects. But the issue was what to do with the money made from the parking garages. 

The recent surge associated with the COVID-19 pandemic trickles down to local fire departments in Bartlett, Collierville and Germantown and their response.

The local face of a global pandemic, challenges to education and the local reaction to the death of George Floyd topped a “Behind The Headlines” review of the year 2020.

As the first COVID-19 vaccinations began in Memphis hospitals Thursday, Gov. Bill Lee offered a message of hope that the pandemic’s end is close but also acknowledged the challenges of Tennessee being in the midst of its worst surge yet.