The total number of cases since early March now totals 77,566.

Hendrell Remus is the first Black chairman of the state party and a veteran political operative in Memphis who recently moved to Nashville. He got the votes for chairman Saturday on a pledge to shake the state Democratic Party from its traditional Nashville orientation to a more grass roots and statewide approach. 

From Jan. 2 to Jan. 16, the Health Department reported an average of 589 new cases and 4,266 tests results a day with a 13.8% positivity rate.

The 535 COVID-19 cases reported Saturday resulted from 5,199 tests, yielding a 10.3% positivity rate. The positivity rate for Tennessee is 14.8%.

American Eagle flight 4245 was set to leave Memphis International Airport at 7:48 a.m. and was delayed for more than five hours, according to American Airlines. It finally departed at 1:41 p.m.

Overton Park golf course may be jammed this weekend with golfers playing one last round before the nine-hole track closes until the fall. The course is being redesigned and rebuilt.

Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Scott Golden, on The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast, says the map to winning Tennessee may have changed with some suburban areas turning purple. 

Lakeland officials say they understand the seriousness of the virus, but want better collaboration with the Health Department.

Memphian Matthew Bledsoe has been charged as one of the rioters at the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C., Wednesday, Jan. 6.

The Congressman from Germantown told The Daily Memphian he believes Trump’s remarks just before the Capitol insurrection fueled the violence that claimed five lives. Kustoff also indicated it might be time to change the Congressional Act that allowed the electoral college challenge he supported.

The two mayors, in an extended interview on “Behind The Headlines,” say new vaccines that don’t require two doses or sub-zero refrigeration could work better for meeting the need countywide. 

The 491 cases come from 4,472 tests, giving the day a positivity rate of 11%.

In addition to new summer school and tutoring programs to catch students up from learning disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Bill Lee promised a pay hike for teachers, but did not specify an amount.

Shopping centers are out, a new QB is headed to Memphis, and the Health Department isn’t ruling out extending our latest ‘Safer at Home’ restrictions. 

Toni Woods feels safer after second dose, but she knows her patients and her mother still need her to keep working, avoid risk.

Groups are finding virtual ways to serve for the MLK holiday this year because of the pandemic. 

Dr. Brown holds numerous positions in genetics, genomics and pediatrics at UTHSC.

A preliminary hearing has been set for Feb. 4 for the MPD officer charged with kidnapping and fatally shooting 30-year-old Robert Howard on Jan. 6. 

Haushalter: “We are scheduled to receive 8,900 doses in one week; only a portion is coming to public health. We do not have sufficient supply. We have sufficient resources and manpower.”

On Thursday, the Shelby County Health Department reported 31 additional coronavirus-related deaths. But, those deaths have dates as wide-ranging as Dec. 2 to Jan. 11, the agency said. 

In addition to those deaths, the Health Department also reported 548 new coronavirus cases.

Today’s edition includes lots of sun, fried chicken and some talking and walking in Memphis. 

Early results on who has received vaccine so far in Shelby County and Tennessee show some disparities, with a large percentage of recipients statewide being of “unknown” race, which is a problem, experts say. 

Principal’s comments on the power social media and big tech companies have are under scrutiny from Shelby County Schools officials.