‘Exponential’ rise in cases led to Safer at Home order
Health director: Access to hospital beds also a factor
An “exponential” increase in daily COVID-19 cases was a key factor that led the Shelby County Health Department to implement its Safer at Home order that went into effect Saturday, said Alisa Haushalter, director of the health department.
“The pandemic was in a phase of exponential growth and that was critical,” she said Tuesday.
Haushalter said the health department looked at the average number of new cases per day.
On Oct. 24, Shelby County hit a 14day average of more than 200 cases for the first time since the summer. By Nov. 15, that average had risen to more than 300. Then on Nov. 21, it hit 401. On Dec. 12, that average hit 501. On Dec. 17, it hit 652. On Dec. 21, it hit 728.
Left unchecked, in a month “we would have thousands and thousands of more cases” of COVID-19 per day, Haushalter said.
Hospital access and the daily increase in cases are some of the data Haushalter pointed to after she faced criticism from the Town of Arlington Board of Mayor and Aldermen for the Safer at Home order.
As of 5 p.m. Monday, 89% of local acute care hospital beds and 93% of intensive care units were occupied. There were 580 COVID-19 patients in Memphis-area hospitals Monday evening. Another 67 patients were under investigation in Memphis-area hospitals for COVID-LIKE symptoms.
The 580 COVID-19 hospitalizations was the highest number during the course of the pandemic.
Tuesday, Haushalter stressed that hospitals have surge plans in place.
Wednesday, Arlington’s Board sent a letter to the Shelby County Health Department opposing the Safer at Home Order, writing that they “feel strongly that the Shelby County Health Department has acted prematurely in its actions, other measures should have been taken into consideration such as better public relations, outreach and education on how individuals can make a difference, leaving risk versus reward to the decisions of the individuals.”
Haushalter said Tuesday that she was aware of the letter.
“Elected officials have a right to their own opinion,” she said. “I won’t comment on their opinion. What I will say is we are data driven locally.”
Who is getting vaccines?
Tuesday, health officials addressed current restrictions in Shelby County as well as the state’s plan for distributing COVID-19 vaccines across different populations.
Although the plan is likely to be revised, it is currently available online.
The first group (1a1), which is currently being vaccinated in Tennessee, includes inpatient and other high-exposure healthcare workers, residents and staff of long-term care facilities and first responders, according to the document posted online.
“We ask the public, including those 65 and older, who do not fall within the 1a1 priority group to wait until their respective priority group is scheduled for vaccinations,” the health department said in a statement issued Tuesday afternoon. “It is critical that we focus on those workers who are at high risk of contracting the COVID-19 virus while serving the public. ... As more vaccine is available, the priority groups served will be expanded.”
The second group will include all other healthcare workers, according to the state’s plan.
The third group includes everyone with two or more high-risk co-morbidities, while the fourth group will include critical infrastructure workers, school and childcare staff, people with moderate risk co-morbidities, those 65 or older, people in congregate care and those in corrections. The fifth group is currently written to include young adults, children and industry workers, while the last group will include all others.
“We do believe by current restrictions we can allay serious illness but also reduce the number of deaths in our community,” Haushalter said.
Katherine Burgess covers county government and religion. She can be reached at katherine.burgess@commercialappeal.com, 901-529-2799 or followed on Twitter @kathsburgess.