Oak Ridge Today

ORNL engineer dies of COVID-19

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William “Bill” Lee Collier

An engineer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory died of COVID-19 on Saturday.

It’s the first death of an ORNL employee due to COVID-19.

The engineer, William Collier, 59, became sick the last weekend of August. He appears to have contracted the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the community, the lab said Tuesday.

Collier worked in the Nonreactor Nuclear Facilities Division at ORNL. His obituary said he grew up in Oak Ridge, graduated from Oak Ridge High School in 1979, and graduated from Tennessee Technological University in 1983 with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. He worked for 37 years at ORNL and the Y-12 National Security Complex.

“The loss of a coworker was a possibility we have feared since the pandemic began, and our hearts go out to their family, friends, and colleagues,” ORNL Director Thomas Zacharia said in a message to staff members Tuesday. “This news tragically underscores the significance of the lab’s efforts to understand and combat COVID-19 and hardens our commitment to preventing its transmission and spread, through our own behaviors on campus and through research that is aiding the global fight against the virus.”

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New daily COVID-19 case average remains near or above 10

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A graph shows confirmed new cases of COVID-19 in Anderson County through Friday, Oct. 9, 2020. (Image courtesy Tennessee COVID-19 Case Tracking Coronavirus-19 Outbreak Response Experts (CORE-19) at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville)

The average number of new cases of COVID-19 per day has remained near or above 10 in Anderson County for more than a month.

That’s down from the peak average of about 20 new cases per day or more in late July. But it remains higher than the averages for March, when the pandemic began, and for April, May, June, and early July.

On Tuesday each week, Oak Ridge Today calculates the seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases per day in Anderson County for the previous week.

That seven-day average passed an average of 10 new cases per day in early to mid-July before peaking at 24.7 new cases per day in late July. The average then fell in August before hitting a plateau at about 10 in mid-August. It has remained there, or close to it, with one exception since then.

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UT professor to discuss impact of COVID-19 on ecology, evolution

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Nina Fefferman

A University of Tennessee professor will discuss the effects of COVID-19 on ecology and evolution during an online presentation on Tuesday.

Nina Fefferman will be the speaker at the League of Women Voters event. Fefferman is a professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and the Department of Mathematics at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

Fefferman is the associate director of UT’s One Health Initiative, and she is a member of the Covid-19 Outbreak Response Experts (CORE-19) at UT.

The principle investigator at the Fefferman Lab at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville since 2008, Fefferman focuses on disease in the human population and how disease and disease-related behavioral ecology can affect the short-term survival and long-term evolutionary success of a population during and after a pandemic, a press release said. She has done extensive work with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on pandemic preparedness and has drawn on her expertise to develop models to shape policy to keep populations safe during and after pandemics.

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After falling in August, new COVID cases have plateaued

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A graph shows confirmed new cases of COVID-19 in Anderson County through Friday, Sept. 25, 2020. (Image courtesy Tennessee COVID-19 Case Tracking Coronavirus-19 Outbreak Response Experts (CORE-19) at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville)

After falling in August, the average number of new daily cases of COVID-19 appears to have plateaued in Anderson County.

But there is at least one complication in the data. More than 30 cases reported in Anderson County in mid-September had been assigned to a different county earlier, or the the county of residence had not yet been reported, according to the Tennessee Department of Health.

So, for at least a few days, the data seemed to include an unusually high number of new cases per day (20-29 new cases per day on September 10 and 11, compared to one to six new cases per day other days that week).

Since then, though, the average number of new cases per day has remained about the same, in a range between 11.1 and 13.7 new cases per day. Fourteen new cases were reported Saturday.

The seven-day average number of new cases in Anderson County had fallen to 5.4 per day on September 1, according to calculations by Oak Ridge Today. That was a low that the county hadn’t had since early July, before new case growth peaked later that month.

But since then it’s gone back up to an average of more than 10 new cases per day, where it appears to have plateaued. It’s not clear why.

Anderson County has reported five deaths due to COVID-19 this month. That’s more than one-third of the 13 deaths reported in the county since the pandemic began March 20. Two of the deaths were reported by state health officials in the past few days, on Thursday and Friday.

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Veterans Day Parade canceled due to COVID-19

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This year’s Veterans Day Parade in Anderson County has been canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The decision to cancel the annual parade because of uncertainties related to the pandemic was made by the Clinton American Legion Post #172, in partnership with The Veterans of Foreign Wars Post #12051, AMVETS Post #2, and Disabled American Veterans Chapter 26, a press release said.

“With the COVID-19 concerns and issues throughout the county and within the schools, the American Legion membership felt, ‘due to safety of spectators and participants alike,’ it is best to forego the parade this year and plan for a bigger and better parade in 2021,” the press release said.

While this year’s parade has been canceled, discussions are under way to develop a program to celebrate Veterans Day and follow proper social-distancing restrictions and guidelines, the release said.

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Children’s Halloween Party will be drive-through this year

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Submitted

The Children’s Halloween Party hosted by the Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department will be a drive-through event this year.

The Children’s Halloween Party (Halloween Hollow) is scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, October 29. It will begin at the field on the west side of Alvin K. Bissell Park and end at the parking area on the west side of the Oak Ridge Civic Center.

It’s a drive-through event because of COVID-19.

“Event participants will be able to enjoy Halloween scenes and pick up pre-ordered T-shirts, and children four years old to 4th grade will receive treats,” a press release said.

Employees and volunteers will sanitize frequently and be required to wear masks or face coverings when approaching a car and when within six feet of another person, the press release said. Any participants who want to come in to view the spooky scenes and receive treats will also be required to wear masks or face coverings, the release said.

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After break, schools will continue mix of in-person, staggered schedules

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Bruce Borchers
Bruce Borchers

After fall break, Oak Ridge Schools will continue using in-person instruction for students from pre-kindergarten to fourth grade and staggered schedules for students in fifth grade to 12th grade, Superintendent Bruce Borchers said Tuesday.

The younger students have five days of in-person instruction per week, while the older students have staggered schedules: two days of in-person instruction and three days of online learning per week.

In a letter to staff members and families on Tuesday, Borchers said school staff and students have kept the spread of COVID-19 low during the first term using contact tracing, isolation, quarantine, and recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; practicing good personal hygiene such as hand washing; maintaining physical distances and wearing face masks; and providing or being able to use hand sanitizing stations and clean facilities.

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Roane State Foundation receives $75,000 grant to help small businesses and students affected by COVID-19

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The Roane State Foundation recently received a $75,000 Tennessee Community CARES grant to help Roane State students affected by COVID-19 and provide training for local small businesses, entrepreneurs, and contractors to help them build their businesses and be more responsive during the pandemic, a press release said.

Scholarships are available on a first-come, first-served basis for the following programs:

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New daily COVID case average falls to early July level

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A graph shows confirmed new cases of COVID-19 in Anderson County through Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2020. (Image courtesy Tennessee COVID-19 Case Tracking Coronavirus-19 Outbreak Response Experts (CORE-19) at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville)

The daily average of new COVID-19 cases in Anderson County the past week fell to a level last seen in early July, about five new cases per day.

Last week’s average of 5.4 new cases per day is about a 40 percent drop from the average nine new cases reported per day during the previous week.

It’s the third straight week of a decline in the average number of new cases per day in Anderson County.

Although it’s falling, the seven-day average remains higher than it was in late June, before the case growth started to accelerate in the county.

The highest seven-day average, as calculated by Oak Ridge Today, was in late July, when Anderson County averaged more than 24 new cases of COVID-19 per day. July appears to have been the worst month of the pandemic so far.

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New COVID case average fluctuates, hits recent daily lows

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A graph shows confirmed new cases of COVID-19 in Anderson County through Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2020. (Image courtesy Tennessee COVID-19 Case Tracking Coronavirus-19 Outbreak Response Experts (CORE-19) at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville)

The daily average of new COVID-19 cases in Anderson County this past week was about the same as it was two weeks ago, roughly nine new cases per day.

But the number of new daily cases fell to three and two on Monday and Tuesday. Those are the lowest numbers of new daily cases in Anderson County since early July.

There have been two more deaths in Anderson County reported due to COVID-19 in the past week. Eight people have now died from COVID-19 in the county, according to the Tennessee Department of Health.

And there have been two more hospitalizations. A total of 34 patients have been hospitalized for COVID-19 since the pandemic began in Anderson County on March 20.

The total number of COVID-19 cases in the county rose to 841 on Tuesday.

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Second COVID-19 case reported at Glenwood

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Glenwood-Elementary-School
Glenwood Elementary School in Oak Ridge is pictured above.

A second person at Glenwood Elementary School has tested positive for COVID-19, Oak Ridge Schools said Sunday. It’s the second case reported at the school on Sunday.

The person involved in the second case was last at the school on Wednesday, according to a letter to families from Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Bruce Borchers. The school system learned of the positive test this weekend, he said.

Students and staff members who were potentially exposed have all been notified, and they will quarantine in accordance with Tennessee Department of Health guidelines, Borchers said.

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Person at Glenwood tests positive for COVID-19

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Glenwood-Elementary-School
Glenwood Elementary School in Oak Ridge is pictured above.

A person at Glenwood Elementary School has tested positive for COVID-19, Oak Ridge Schools said Sunday.

The person was last at the school on Thursday, according to a letter to families from Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Bruce Borchers. The school system learned of the positive test this weekend, he said.

Students and staff members who were potentially exposed have all been notified, and they will quarantine in accordance with Tennessee Department of Health guidelines, Borchers said.

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