Note: This story was updated at 5:30 p.m.
The Oak Ridge Police Department responded to a call of a rifle being pointed at cars passing by on Highland Avenue on Tuesday afternoon, but officers determined the gun was a BB gun.
The ORPD received the call at about 3:02 p.m. Tuesday.
[Read more…]The City of Oak Ridge has a mask policy for municipal employees.
Here is what the city said last month:
Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson issued an administrative memo on June 29. It detailed a policy that requires city employees to wear masks or other face coverings when close to the public.
Inside of all municipal buildings, employees should conduct temperature checks and health questioning before they admit any resident to city-secured work areas. City employees will also be required to wear masks inside of any buildings when performing official city duties and interacting with the general public.
[Read more…]
No one was injured, but a home was destroyed by a fire in Oak Ridge last week.
The fire was reported in the 100 block of East Pasadena Road early Monday, July 27, the Oak Ridge Fire Department said.
Firefighters responded to a report of a structure fire at the home around 3:16 a.m. last Monday. When they arrived, fire crews found that 25 percent of home was on fire, with flames coming through the roof in the back corner.
Three engines, a tower truck, rescue truck, and battalion chief fought the fire for approximately 20 minutes before gaining control, the ORFD said. The Oak Ridge Electric Department responded to disconnect the power at the pole, and the Oak Ridge Police Department provided security.
[Read more…]
Edward Sobek, president of Assured Bio Labs LLC reviews COVID-19 analysis systems before the processing of samples. (Submitted photo)
An environmental microbiology laboratory in Oak Ridge is the first in the United States to receive accreditation to analyze air and surfaces for the presence of the virus that causes COVID-19, a press release said.
Assured Bio Labs LLC was granted accreditation for testing environmental air and surfaces for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, by the American Industrial Hygiene Association’s Laboratory Accreditation Program, the press release said. AIHA announced the accreditation in a tweet on June 25.
As businesses bring employees back to work, COVID-19 data for touch points and air is essential to protect workers and the public, the press release said. Accreditation ensures the quality of laboratory analysis.
“Since March, we have been running samples for local municipalities and for New York City essential businesses in the financial district,” said Edward A. Sobek, president of Assured Bio Labs LLC. In April, the lab began providing COVID-19 surface and air testing for health care facilities in the Northeast as they converted COVID-19 patient rooms into standard rooms.
Oak Ridge City Council member Jim Dodson is running for a second four-year term in the November 3 municipal election.
Dodson has been a teacher in Oak Ridge Schools for 33 years.
He was elected to City Council in November 2016, and he serves as the Council representative on the Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission and Youth Advisory Board.
In a press release, Dodson said he has a strong record of community service and leadership on several civic boards, organizations, and commissions.
“I will definitely work alongside my Oak Ridge and East Tennessee neighbors for a better quality of life in our community,” Dodson said. “I hope to continue giving our residents a voice on City Council and promoting excellent educational opportunities for all our kids and young adults.
“I will also continue to help recruit businesses and families to Oak Ridge as the place to relocate. I look forward to working as an Oak Ridge City Council member to maintain and improve all city services while providing safe and thriving neighborhoods.”
[Read more…]
A staff member who was at Oak Ridge High School on Friday has tested positive for COVID-19, Oak Ridge Schools said Sunday.
The school system learned of the positive diagnosis on Saturday.
“Having this report Saturday morning allowed us to implement a 24-hour closure so we could thoroughly disinfect the building on Saturday,” Superintendent Bruce Borchers said in a letter to families. A second disinfectant fogging of the full building occurred on Sunday, Borchers said.
It’s the sixth overall COVID-19 case in Oak Ridge Schools and the fifth since July 15.
The other cases since July 15 involved a staff member who had been at Jefferson Middle School and ORHS, a staff member at JMS, a student at ORHS band camp, and an instructor at ORHS band camp.
In an earlier case in April, a staff member who had been volunteering at the school system’s food distribution sites tested positive for COVID-19.
[Read more…]Four out of five students in Oak Ridge Schools are attending classes in person at least two days per week, while one out of five have registered for an online-only option as the school system and families respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Here are the enrollment numbers for all of the schools on Friday:
The school system was showing a total enrollment of 4,658 on Friday, but Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Bruce Borchers said it is too early to tell what the actual enrollment is.
“We should have a solid number in a couple of weeks,” he said.
It’s not clear how many families have selected a home school option during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The school system offered two options for the new school year, which started Wednesday and Thursday, depending upon the school.
[Read more…]The two youngest age groups and the oldest age group had the highest rates of increase in COVID-19 cases in Anderson County in July, and young adults had the most cases and the largest number of new cases.
The two youngest age groups and the oldest age group started the month with the lowest number of cases. But the 11-20 age group ended the month about in the middle of the nine age groups in terms of number of cases.
Cases among patients 0-10 years old grew from one on July 1 to 29 on July 31, according to data from the Tennessee Department of Health. That’s 29 times as many cases at the end of the month as the beginning, and an increase of 28 new cases during the month. It’s the highest rate of increase among all age groups, starting with the lowest number of cases.
Cases among patients 11-20 grew from six on July 1 to 74 on July 31. That’s 12.3 times as many cases at the end of the month as the beginning, and an increase of 68 new cases during the month. It’s the second-highest rate of increase and the third-highest number of new cases among all age groups.
[Read more…]Oak Ridge Today has been reporting on the COVID-19 pandemic in Tennessee, Anderson County, and Oak Ridge for more than four months. We’ve published about 200 stories about COVID-19 and how it’s affected us here. All of these stories have been free to readers.
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Her family couldn’t visit her in the hospital for weeks. She initially didn’t know where she was or why she was there. She was on a ventilator for 13 days.
Now, after two trips to the hospital and about a month there, Nancy Garner, 67, of Oak Ridge, is back at home, still recovering from COVID-19. It’s been almost two months since she tested positive.
Nancy was first tested for COVID-19 in early June while on vacation with her husband, Carl, 71, in Florida.
The Garners had left Oak Ridge on Saturday, June 6. They had rented a house in Florida with friends from Texas.
Nancy Garner noticed symptoms the next day, Sunday, June 7. She had a fever and sore throat. She thought it was from being outside in the sun.
But the following day, Monday, the symptoms were worse. She went to an emergency room in Florida, and she was tested for COVID-19.
She and Carl came back to Oak Ridge immediately, and they stayed at home. They both learned that week that they had tested positive for COVID-19.
[Read more…]Note: This story was updated at 5 p.m.
An Oak Ridge Schools staff member who has been at Jefferson Middle School and Oak Ridge High School has tested positive for COVID-19, the school system said Wednesday.
It’s the fifth overall COVID-19 case in Oak Ridge Schools and the fourth in the past two weeks, since July 15.
The schools learned of the positive test result for the staff member on Wednesday. The staff member, who has not been publicly identified, had been at JMS and ORHS last Friday.
[Read more…]
Note: This story was last updated at 4 p.m. We have added some of Wednesday’s COVID-19 statistics to this story, which initially focused on Tuesday’s numbers.
The number of COVID-19 cases in Anderson County rose to 500 on Tuesday, and the county has reported its fourth and fifth deaths due to the new coronavirus.
Three of the county’s five deaths have been in the past two weeks. Two of those have been in the past week.
On Wednesday, Anderson County reported another 36 new cases of COVID-19—just below the all-time high of 39—and the total number of cases climbed to 536.
The total number of COVID-19 cases in the county has more than doubled in 13 days. There were 252 COVID-19 cases in Anderson County on July 16.
The 536 cases reported Wednesday means about 0.7 percent of the county’s roughly 77,000 residents have been infected with COVID-19.
The number of active cases (total cases minus recoveries and deaths) continued to increase significantly, rising to 271 on Wednesday, according to data published by the Tennessee Department of Health. (The number of active cases had been 241 on Tuesday.) Active cases increased by 118 in Anderson County in one week. They have more than doubled in the past two weeks.
The county reported a record-high 39 new daily cases twice in the past week, first on Thursday and then again on Monday.
[Read more…]