Memphis area fitness centers were gearing up to reopen Monday with smaller class sizes, more space between people and equipment, senior citizen hours and a continued focus on virtual classes.

Gov. Bill Lee’s Economic Recovery Group, stacked with state commissioners and business lobbyists, leaned heavily toward business demands to restart the economy, mainly because it was afraid many would go under without a reboot

St. Patrick Catholic Church has been streaming its services on Sundays due to the suspension of public mass. But parishioners' pictures are taped to the pews while they gather apart for worship. Public Mass has been suspended until May 16 by a decree of Memphis Bishop David Talley. 

Tennessee Department of Health reports 516 new coronavirus cases for a total of 13,177. So far the state has tested a total of 204,607, up 8,331 since Saturday. There have been 5,814 recoveries and 210 deaths.

A children's art show, lectures, story time with Michelle Obama and a run/walk/bike event on Saturday are planned to observe the event.

Coronavirus shut down the college baseball season and is causing some summer leagues to cancel their season. That means some University of Memphis players may be scrambling to find a place to play, or sitting out yet again.

Drive-thru, curbside and patio space becoming higher priorities for restaurateurs as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The director of the social justice organization says on The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast problems with online learning as schools closed and maintaining school lunch programs have opened the eyes of Memphians to long- standing problems.

When a group of local Malaysian-American professionals heard that University of Memphis' international students were having trouble keeping food on their plates, they banded together to stage a food drive.

Memphians practicing social distancing and following recommended safety measures while in public sport the latest fashion accessory, coronavirus masks, turning us all into benign bandits.

As Shelby County approaches the beginning of "Back to Business" on Monday, 30,000 tests have been administered in the area. A downward trend in the percentage of positivity points to slower spreads of COVID-19, despite rising totals of infected citizens.

Parts of Memphis’ $3.5 billion a year tourism industry could make a comeback as soon as next week. The city will vet reopening plans on a case-by-case basis.

In Shelby County, 53 individuals have died from the virus.

Studies show that anxiety, heart rate, blood pressure and respiratory rate can be reduced by listening to music, and that music has been linked to better sleep while on a ventilator in the ICU. Health care professionals have described a reduction in stress and empathy fatigue from listening to music.

This month's playlist is accompanied by news about the Music Export Memphis COVID-19 Relief Fund, which to date has awarded more than $100,000 in grants to individual Memphis musicians.

Mediation is getting underway on a consent decree modification case between the city and the American Civil Liberties Union. The city wants to modify a 41-year-old consent decree governing police activities.

The boards produced inside the Memphis Speech and Hearing Center allow COVID-19 patients on ventilators to communicate without talking. 

Not every business will be willing or prepared to reopen Monday even if allowed to under the Memphis and Shelby County "Back to Business" plan. 

Longtime Memphis musicians Jeff Hulett and Jacob Church worked remotely to conceive their new collaborative album, "Safe @ Home." The songs explore themes related to isolation, anxiety and hope in an era of social distancing.

The first 11 grants, totaling $62,500, were approved Friday, May 1, under the Economic Development Growth Engine's new program to aid small, inner-city businesses struggling because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Increased testing shows the county’s COVID-19 task force is approaching the goal of testing 1,000 people daily. A declining rate of positive cases reflects evidence that the spread of the virus has slowed. 

Shelby County's suburban cities are beginning to expand on openings allowed under the first phase of the local "Back to Business" phased plan and will allow "close contact" businesses to open next week.

On Friday, TDOC confirmed more than 1,246 COVID-19 positive cases, out of 2,450 total tests, among staff and inmates at the Trousdale Turner Correctional Center in Trousdale County.

Congratulations, you made it to May. Today, we're talking about plans to reopen the local economy, balancing work from home with homework, shakes go sayonara and how special events have changed since the coronavirus came on the scene. 

One Houston High junior decided he could get a head start on his senior capstone project. He took the opportunity to give back to healthcare workers.