A proposal to temporarily close Anderson County Courthouse offices to the public because of COVID-19 and to have much business conducted remotely was referred to a committee last week.
The Anderson County Commission considered the motion on Monday, December 21. The proposal to switch to remote work for courthouse offices was made by Commissioner Theresa Scott and seconded by Commissioner Catherine Denenberg of districts six and seven in Oak Ridge.
More than 700 school-aged children have tested positive for COVID-19 in Anderson County since the pandemic began March 20, and the growth in cases among children 5-18 years old is accelerating, according to state data.
It’s not clear what long-term effects COVID-19 might have on children. Anecdotally, in social media posts, some parents have discussed a continued loss of taste and smell among their children.
In the past two weeks, Anderson County has reported more than 1,500 new cases of COVID-19, according to state data. The county has also reported 17 deaths and 22 hospitalizations in those 14 days.
About 2 percent of the county’s roughly 77,000 residents tested positive for COVID-19 in those two weeks, and almost 7 percent of the population has been infected since the pandemic began March 20.
The City of Oak Ridge has named Travis Solomon as its new fire chief.
Solomon, who previously served as Oak Ridge Fire Department fire marshal, has served as interim fire chief since former Chief Darryl Kerley’s departure in August. Solomon begins serving as fire chief immediately, a press release said.
“Oak Ridge has always been the model and leading fire service,” Solomon said in the press release. “I want to continue that and enhance the services we provide to better our ability to serve the public.”
[Read more…]Note: This story was updated at 12:20 p.m. Dec. 16.
Nine deaths, 14 hospitalizations, and 1,000 new COVID-19 cases were reported in Anderson County in the nine-day period that ended Tuesday. That’s more deaths, hospitalizations, and new cases in a little more than a week than has been reported in all previous months except November.
The Oak Ridge Public Library will close to the public and return to curbside pickup only after the Thanksgiving holiday due to the dramatic increase in local COVID-19 cases, a press release said.
Curbside hours are Monday through Saturday from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Starting Monday, November 30, library users can place holds on books, movies, music, and audiobooks through the library’s catalog at http://orpl.ent.sirsi.net/. Patrons will be notified when their items are ready to be picked up. Look for the reserved parking spaces in the library’s parking lot, call the number on the sign, and library staff will bring your items to your car. If you need help finding items to read, watch, or listen to, you can call (865) 425-3455 for assistance placing holds.
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The executive order for face coverings that was issued by Roane County Executive Ron Woody on Monday could be in effect through December 29 unless Woody and Tennessee Governor Bill Lee extend the order.
Woody announced Monday morning that he was going to invoke the authority to mandate face masks in Roane County as authorized by Lee’s order in July.
The mask mandate does not apply to:
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Face masks are now required in Roane County to help reduce the spread of COVID-19.
Roane County Executive Ron Woody announced the mask mandate on Monday morning. It is effective immediately.
“I hope this community will take this order without causing more divisions among our citizens,” Woody said. He hopes no law enforcement will be needed.
The west end of Oak Ridge is in Roane County, although most of the city’s residents live in Anderson County.
Roane County’s cases and deaths have risen during the past month, Woody said. Roane County has reported almost four times as many COVID-19 deaths so far this month, 15, than in the previous high month—four in September. The county has reported more new cases so far this month, 717, than in the previous high month—543 in October.
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Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson is feeling better, and his COVID-19 symptoms remained mild all week, a spokesperson said Friday.
Watson learned a week ago that he had tested positive for COVID-19.
The city manager worked remotely this past week, Oak Ridge spokesperson Lauren Gray said. He will continue to work from home at the beginning of next week and will be off for the Thanksgiving holiday at the end of the week.
The city has urged residents to use caution during the holiday season as the positivity rate remains high; wastewater testing shows the disease is present across the city; and new cases, hospitalizations, and deaths grow to record-setting levels in Anderson County, Tennessee, and the United States.
[Read more…]Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson learned on Friday that he had tested positive for COVID-19.
The positive result came after a test on Saturday, City of Oak Ridge spokesperson Lauren Gray said.
She said Watson has mild symptoms and no fever; he is just tired.
It’s unclear when and where he was exposed to the virus.
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In a press release Thursday, the City of Oak Ridge said it is alarmed by the 12.5 percent positivity rate for COVID-19 in the Oak Ridge area, and wastewater testing shows the disease is present across the city.
The positivity rate measures the percentage of tests that return positive results out of the new tests each day. A 12.5 percent positivity rate means that 12.5 tests are positive out of each 100 new tests, on average.
A 12.5 percent positivity rate is high. World Health Organization guidelines call for a positivity rate below 5 percent for 14 days before activities re-open.
In its press release, the city said the 12.5 percent positivity rate in the Oak Ridge area was measured earlier this week and was obtained from zip-code specific data from the Tennessee Department of Health.
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