A true return to pre-COVID-19 life in Memphis will require either a vaccine or the development of herd immunity.

Community Legal Center and Memphis Area Legal Services are receiving "panicked calls from people who have been furloughed or fired and who lack money to feed their children and keep a roof over their heads."

Even as we re-imagine and advocate for 21st-century facilities, we must do so knowing that learning can no longer be contained in the four walls of a classroom, nor should it.

We’ve watched Memphis’ social distancing “grade” drop down to a D. I think it shows how bad we all are at staying away from each other. On a smaller scale – the me scale – I’ve been finding more and more ways to socially distance … with people.

At the same time I was lamenting our Easter plans, I forced myself to pause and look around. I was spending a Saturday morning playing with my children in the yard and smoking a pork shoulder on the grill. Our current condition had “forced” us to find a way to spend the entire day as a family.

The city’s decision to temporarily close Riverside Drive converted the noisy and congested road that divides the Riverwalk from Tom Lee Park into a centerpiece of bustling pedestrian activities. 

Those who survive moderately severe and severe cases of the virus may face aftereffects such as reduced vitality, shortness of breath, lung infections and decreased mental capacity, among other problems. 

How could we continue to deliver MIFA Meals on Wheels, a service that, by design, is face-to-face, during social isolation? Our answer stretched our imaginations and our capacity.

As we shelter at home, new methods of conducting business and social activities may lead to vocal fatigue.

Rudi didn’t take the idea of death lightly. He didn’t go to funerals. But when someone he cared for died, he gave generously to a charity in their memory.

Rabbi Micah Greenstein shares part of his eulogy for Rudi E. Scheidt Sr., the businessman, philanthropist and music lover who died Sunday, April 12. 

We have our ear to the ground with hundreds of local nonprofits and are awarding weekly, rapid-relief grants — with $977,500 and counting out the door to 48 agencies thus far.

Boundaries between states are archaic, invisible lines that have little connection to how people work, move or spend money. Those lines shouldn't determine a response to the COVID-19 crisis.

It was an early spring that year too – 1878 – as Mardi Gras celebrations in Memphis ended and news of yellow fever erupted. Even though the outbreak was in another country, ship trade made everyone our neighbor. And, Memphis was a major hub, webbed by train tracks and edged by riverboats.

When the hospital asked, my cousin was among those who said they’d be comfortable working with patients who tested positive for the virus. Now, some of her coworkers avoid her. 

Confined to our homes and apartments, Jews across Memphis, America and the world will impart the same timeless lessons of Passover via Zoom and digital touchpoints instead of large in-person seder gatherings.

Commercial construction zones have mandates regarding hard hats and goggles. Fire marshals monitor occupancy levels in clubs and other settings. Shelby County and other local governments should take a leadership role to mandate rules for retailers and other employers during the pandemic.

Memphis has always been a religious city. We will rise to the occasion, because we are a city driven by the engine of faith. 

By taking a chance on playing a concert at Rhodes College, Marsalis gave the Curb Institute credibility and paved the way for appearances by George Coleman, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Harold Mabern and Charles Lloyd.

This pandemic has awakened us to the fragility of our economy, which depends heavily on small business, hourly wages and gig economy workers. Maybe we are on the precipice of a revolution. Great crises usually inspire great change.

COVID-19 is three to five times more infectious than the flu, and up to 10 times more deadly. It can infect your entire respiratory tract from top to bottom. This is why so many victims wind up in an ICU on a ventilator. This is why young, healthy adults can die from it.

Conferring with a medical professional by video helps individuals avoid hospitals, where they risk infecting others or coming into contact with disease.

Most people I’ve spoken to in business and health care are questioning the old ways. What’s the point of these massive office buildings, inefficient meetings and travel? The new ways will save money and free up time, so why go back? 

Critics have said that because detainees of Juvenile Court of Memphis and Shelby County are juveniles and have not been convicted of a crime, they don’t pose a threat to the community. That makes for a good soundbite, but let’s pull back the curtain on one given day and review why these juveniles are in detention.

The first death from COVID-19 was reported in Shelby County March 28. For a while, we didn’t know that, because the governor wasn’t releasing deaths with county names.