The Shelby County Health Department reported 258 new coronavirus cases and two related deaths on Tuesday, Oct. 6.

It’s Tuesday, Oct. 6, and midwifery is a hot topic. Plus, an elected official is taking on appointed ones, Amazon is dropping another package in Cordova, and the U of M is planning a new housing facility adjacent to rapid transit. 

Almost every day, 15%-20% of the people in Shelby County who test positive do not respond to calls from the health department for contact tracing.

Jon McCreery and Brandon Musso both say they want to unify what’s broken in the city of Germantown. The two are facing off for Position 5 in the November election.

The council discussion of the record number of homicides so far this year could venture into past discussions of police reform. The City Council also discusses a rezoning of Summer Avenue to preserve four churches along the busy thoroughfare after one was about to be demolished.

Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton talked about his plan to strip away the autonomy of the Shelby County Health Department during a visit Monday to the county. He says public health officials should advise mayors, who would make the ultimate decision on pandemic and other health-related measures.

Trump’s doctor, Navy Cdr. Sean Conley, was also upbeat at an afternoon briefing but said the President will not be fully out of the woods for another week.

The first absentee ballots will be in the mail to Shelby County voters Wednesday, Oct. 7, according to the Shelby County Election Commission.

The Shelby County Health Department reported 95 new coronavirus cases on Monday, Oct. 5.

It’s Monday, Oct. 5, and FedEx is getting cold, restaurants want more from the Health Department and the Restaurant Pheonix Project goes whole hog. 

FedEx is hiring, buying freezers and working with pharmaceutical companies to plan a massive distribution effort for the coronavirus vaccine, in which Memphis is expected to play a crucial role.

House Democrats, including five from Shelby County, are calling for a state Comptroller’s audit of Gov. Bill Lee’s federal-coronavirus-funds spending amid questions about its effectiveness.

After six months of coronavirus, the resulting losses are profound, but the stories these people tell are about going on, a process they find central to living with the unknown. 

The Shelby County daily positivity rate from Sunday is about 5.6% after 2,620 tests were administered. The Health Department reported seven new deaths.

Monday afternoon is the deadline to register to vote in the presidential general election if you aren’t already registered. Here is a look at the demographics of the Shelby County voter base.

Voter registration drives are busy on the last weekend before the registration deadline. But more than 80% of Shelby County’s voting age population is already registered. The tale of the 2020 presidential election in Shelby County will be told by the voters on the rolls who show up.

Even though the Cooper Young Festival was canceled this year due to coronavirus restrictions, the annual four-miler race went on.

From Sept. 19 to Saturday, Oct. 3, the Shelby County Health Department reported an average of 122 new coronavirus cases and 2,782 tests reported each day, yielding a 4.4% positivity rate. Those results included tests from people tested multiple times.

Overall, the Shelby County Health Department reports 31,840 coronavirus cases, 478 deaths and 30,050 cases classified as inactive/recovered. The active case count stands at 1,312, a decrease from the 1,452 reported Friday.

The chairman of a committee studying the governor’s emergency authority says the Legislature could increase notification requirements and even put an end the office’s executive powers in a prolonged state of emergency.

Business leader and developer J.W. Gibson talks about the South Memphis TIF taking in Soulsville, LeMoyne-Owen College and the old Metro Plaza on The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast.

MPD officers have been told to submit job-related social media search terms by Oct. 12. 

Memphis municipal courts to resume in-person appearances with a staggered schedule beginning Monday, Oct. 5. 

Staying open two more hours at night could make all the difference for bars that were closed for almost three months because of COVID, owners say.