Entertainment venues ordered closed In Memphis
Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland issued directives Saturday that closed entertainment venues, bowling alleys, movie theaters and other spaces in the city where people congregate.
The entertainment venues add to the growing list of closures in Memphis, which in recent days has seen the shuttering restaurant dining rooms, bars and gyms. Worship services are expected to turn virtual until further notice.
The measure announced Saturday is further use of Strickland’s powers under the civil emergency he declared Thursday in response to community spread of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19.
The civil emergency does not apply to grocery stores, pharmacies gas stations, healthcare facilities or residential care facilities, the order said.
Effective at midnight, the order closed the following businesses, venues and clubs:
❚ Theaters, cinemas, movie theaters, and indoor and outdoor performance venues
❚ Bowling alleys, arcades, indoor climbing facilities, indoor skating rinks, trampoline parks
❚ Hookah bars, cigar bars, and vaping lounges offering products for onpremises consumption
❚ On-site consumption of food or beverage within private fraternal, social, golf or country clubs or similar private clubs
Task force created
Shelby County and Memphis officials are joining together to manage response and containment of coronavirus.
Strickland and Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris will lead a task force, working in tandem to pool city and county resources. Alisa Haushalter, director of the Shelby County Health Department, and Dr. Manoj Jain, an infectious disease expert hired by the City of Memphis during the outbreak, will lead the area’s medical response as part of the task force.
Jain has been a practicing consultant in infectious disease at Baptist and Methodist Hospitals in Memphis since 1995, according to his biography. He has served as a consultant to the World Bank on HIV.
Shelby County cases rise to 42
Shelby County has 42 reported COVID-19 cases, according to a Saturday morning update from the health department. This is a day-to-day increase of 12. The total in Tennessee is 371, per the state health department.
“There are now indications that person-to-person spread in the community may be taking place,” according to the health department’s statement. “The Health Department recommends strict adherence to social-distancing recommendations.”
Arlington schools suspends meal program
Arlington Community Schools will suspend its student meal program, according to a press release posted to the district’s Facebook page Saturday morning. The press release did not cite any reported coronavirus cases within the Arlington school district.
Rather, the district is doing so following news on Friday that an employee at the Shelby County Schools nutrition center tested positive for coronavirus. SCS suspended its meal program out of “an abundance of caution.” That employee was not in food preparation, the district said. In light of the SCS news, “the rising number of positive cases in Shelby County and out of an abundance of caution to protect our ACS nutrition employees, Arlington Community Schools will indefinitely suspend our free meal distribution program,” according to the release.
The meal plan was scheduled to begin Monday at the Gallaway Municipal Complex, according to the release.
The district has 2 elementary schools, 1 middle school and 1 high school.
According to an update made March 19, the school system will follow Gov. Bill Lee’s recommendation to remain closed through March 31.
“ACS will follow that recommendation, however, I do believe it’s likely the closure will last even longer, and I want you to be aware of that possibility,” Superintendent Tammy Mason said in the update.
At the Friday press conference about the SCS employee, Alisa Haushalter, director of the Shelby County Health Department, said that she is not concerned about carry-out still occurring at Memphis restaurants, but stopped short of voicing support for SCS’ plan to suspend the program and redirected questions to another reporter.
“Most takeout, you’re going to have a short, brief interaction with whoever you’re purchasing or ordering the food from,” Haushalter said. “And for coronavirus, the time frame for exposure is around a 10-minute window.”
Across the country, meals for students have been noted as one of the top reasons for not closing schools.
More: Shelby County Schools nutrition employee tests positive for coronavirus; meal distribution suspended ‘indefinitely’
Employee tests positive via kit administered at St. Jude
A St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital employee who works in patient care tested positive for COVID-19 Friday night, according to a statement made by the hospital Saturday morning.
The hospital said it performed the test and reported results to the Shelby County Health Department.
The employee is “on self-quarantine at home,” per the statement, shared by Marvin Stockwell, director of media relations for the hospital. “We are working in partnership with the Shelby County Health Department to make sure appropriate follow-up measures are taken.” The hospital said it began a response plan before coronavirus cases were reported in the United States: “Soon after the virus emerged in Asia, St. Jude began preparing for COVID-19 and implemented its Emergency Operations Plan. We remain focused on ensuring the health and safety of those we serve, and providing helpful information through our public resources.”
As of March 9, the day after the first confirmed case in Shelby County, St. Jude paused work travel due to the coronavirus outbreak and began limiting visitors to the hospital.
Laura Testino covers education and children’s issues for the Commercial Appeal. Reach her at laura.testino@commercialappeal.com or 901-5123763. Find her on Twitter: @Ldtestino