Oak Ridge Today

COVID-19 cases rise by more than 2,000 as testing increases

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Graph by Ken Mayes (used with permission)

Note: This story was last updated at 5:45 p.m.

The number of COVID-19 cases increased by more than 2,000 in Tennessee last week as testing increased by more than 40,000.

The total number of cases passed 7,000, then 8,000, then 9,000 last week. The case count increased by 30 percent in one week. The Tennessee Department of Health reported 9,189 cases on Saturday, up from 7,070 on April 19.

But testing was up even more, a roughly 45 percent increase. The number of tests rose from 97,098 on Sunday, April 19, to 141,406 on Saturday, April 25.

The daily growth rate in the number of new cases had dropped to a low of 2.2 percent on Tuesday, April 21, but it has since increased to more than 5 percent. The number of new cases reported each day had been down to 156, but it’s now over 400.

The increase in the number of tests included more than 11,000 tests reported by the state of Tennessee at free drive-through sites last weekend. It was the largest number of tests in the state over a two-day period, Tennessee Governor Bill said Monday. The testing has been expanded to include patients without traditional COVID-19 symptoms.

Expanding testing capacity is an important step to re-open the state’s economy, Lee said. The governor has announced that he will not extend a stay-at-home order past April 30, and restaurants are able to reopen Monday at 50 percent occupancy and retailers are able to reopen Wednesday at 50 percent occupancy.

The increase in the number of cases in Tennessee has included inmates at a state prison, the Bledsoe County Correctional Complex in Pikeville. The Tennessee Department of Correction reported that 576 inmates tested positive for COVID-19 after a large testing event last weekend, although most didn’t show symptoms, and more than 2,000 people have been tested, according to the Tennessean newspaper in Nashville.

[Read more…]

Free drive-through COVID-19 testing in Oak Ridge on Sunday

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

There will be free drive-through COVID-19 testing in Oak Ridge on Sunday.

The testing is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, April 26, at the Oak Ridge campus of Roane State Community College. Participants can remain in their vehicles throughout the process.

The Anderson County Health Department and the Tennessee Department of Health are organizing the testing event, a press release said. Nurses and/or National Guard medics will collect nasal swabs from those who want to be tested. Test results may be available within 72 hours after the samples arrive at the lab, depending on lab volume.

[Read more…]

Gov. Lee says he will not extend stay-at-home order past April 30

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Bill Lee

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee on Monday said he will not extend the state’s stay-at-home order past April 30, and most businesses in 89 of Tennessee’s 95 counties will be allowed to re-open on May 1.

“Our Economic Recovery Group is working with industry leaders around the clock so that some businesses can open as soon as Monday, April 27,” Lee said. “These businesses will open according to specific guidance that we will provide in accordance with state and national experts in both medicine and business.”

The governor said his administration will work with Shelby, Madison, Davidson, Hamilton, Knox, and Sullivan counties and their health departments as they plan their own strategies for re-opening.

[Read more…]

Free drive-through COVID-19 testing available Sunday

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Free drive-through testing for COVID-19 will be available at Roane State Community College’s main campus in Roane County on Sunday, April 19.

The testing is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. Patients can remain in their vehicles throughout the process, a press release said.

The Roane County Health Department and the Tennessee Department of Health are organizing the testing event. Nurses and/or National Guard medics will collect nasal swabs from those who want to be tested, the press release said. Test results may be available within 72 hours after the samples arrive at the lab, depending on lab volume, the release said.

Anyone with health concerns, or who has concerns about the health of a family member, is invited to receive testing for COVID-19 at the event on April 19, the press release said. Participants do not need to provide a doctor’s note or prescription to access testing.

[Read more…]

For members: Layoffs announced at movie theater, car dealer

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Cinemark Tinseltown Theater is temporarily closed. The theater is pictured above on Friday, March 20, 2020. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Layoffs have been announced at an Oak Ridge movie theater and car dealership as well as at a fast food restaurant that could start renovations next month. Two Oak Ridge hotels have also announced layoffs.

The layoffs were announced as Tennessee reported that more than 300,000 unemployment claims were filed in the past four weeks. Parts of the economy have been shut down, and residents are required to stay at home unless they are conducting essential activities. Tennessee, along with the rest of the country and the world, is trying to slow the spread of COVID-19, a contagious respiratory illness that can be deadly.

Thirty-five workers were affected by layoffs at the movie theater, Cinemark Tinseltown USA, according to a notice posted by the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development on Friday. The layoffs were effective March 26.

The theater, which is at Main Street Oak Ridge in the center of the city, has been temporarily closed.

The closure of Cinemark theaters across the United States is temporary and a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic, spokesperson Caitlin Piper said Saturday.

“The health and safety of our employees, guests, and communities is a top priority, and we look forward to once again hiring employees and welcoming moviegoers to experience the magic of cinematic storytelling on our big screens when it is safe to do so,” Piper said. “Again, these Cinemark theatre closures across the U.S. are temporary.”

[Read more…]

Curve flattening: Growth rate of COVID-19 cases in single digits

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Graph, using a logarithmic scale, by Ken Mayes (used with permission)

The growth rate of COVID-19 cases in Tennessee has been in single digits for eight days and at or below 10 percent for two weeks.

This week, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee said the single-digit growth rate is encouraging.

“Our curve is flattening,” Tennessee Department of Health Commissioner Lisa Piercey said during a press conference Monday. She said people need to continue doing what they are doing, especially as the state considers re-opening the economy in phases in May.

“We’re not out of the woods yet,” Lee said during that press conference. He said the state doesn’t intend to lift social distancing efforts, even if other requirements change.

“Social distancing is going to be a way of life for Tennesseans going forward,” Lee said. That will be true until there is a vaccine, he said.

On Monday, the governor announced a statewide stay-at-home order would be extended through April 30. On Wednesday, he recommended that schools in Tennessee remain closed though the end of the school year.

In the most recent update, from Wednesday, the Tennessee Department of Health reported 6,079 COVID-19 cases in Tennessee with 135 deaths. There have been 663 hospitalizations and 2,196 recoveries.

Read more

Governor recommends keeping schools closed through end of school year

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Bill Lee

Note: This story was last updated at 6:40 p.m.

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has recommended that schools in the state remain closed through the end of the school year.

Lee announced the recommendation during a Wednesday afternoon press conference about the COVID-19 pandemic.

School districts will have the flexibility to carry out critical year-end activities and to start preparing for next year, the governor said.

Tennessee Department of Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn said she appreciated the governor’s recommendation to keep schools closed through the end of the school year in order to protect the health and safety of all Tennesseans.

Schwinn said schools will open next year, and students will enter new grades.

[Read more…]

Governor announces free COVID-19 testing

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Bill Lee

Note: This story was last updated at 6:55 p.m.

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee on Wednesday announced that free COVID-19 testing will be available to any Tennessee resident, regardless of whether they have the traditional symptoms: fever, cough, and difficulty breathing.

It’s a significant expansion of what the state has been doing, including of the testing criteria and testing sites and dates, said Tennessee Department of Health Commissioner Dr. Lisa Piercey. She said access is being expanded to the uninsured.

“If you think you need a test, we will test you,” Piercey said during a Wednesday afternoon press conference about the COVID-19 pandemic. “Our clinical understanding of COVID-19 is changing rapidly, and we need every Tennessean who isn’t feeling well, even outside of the traditional COVID-19 symptoms of cough, fever, or difficulty breathing, to come out and get tested.”

Lee said those who might want to get tested include those who aren’t feeling well and those who have come into contact with someone who has had COVID-19.

“We need every Tennesseean who isn’t feeling well to understand that they have access to testing,” Lee said. “When in doubt, get a test.”

COVID-19 is a contagious respiratory illness that can be deadly.

[Read more…]

Updated: Governor extends ‘stay at home’ order to April 30

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Source: State of Tennessee

Note: This story was last updated at 1:45 p.m. April 14.

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee on Monday said he will extend the state’s “stay at home order” through Thursday, April 30.

The order, issued Thursday, April 2, had been scheduled to expire at 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, April 14, but it has been extended for 16 days. The order requires Tennessee residents to stay at home unless they are carrying out essential activities. (You can learn more about essential businesses and services in the image above and on this website page.)

The order was extended to the end of the month in cooperation with guidance from the White House, Lee said during a press conference broadcast online on Monday afternoon. The governor’s updated executive order is available here.

Tennessee has had more than 10 days of single-digit growth, rather than double-digit growth, in the number of COVID-19 cases, Lee said, calling the trend encouraging.

“We’re not out of the woods yet, and it could be some time,” Lee said. “But it is clear that the actions that we take at the state, combined with the local level—most importantly with the determination of our citizens and the bravery of our first responders and our health care workers on the front lines—those efforts have saved countless lives across Tennessee, and for that we are thankful.”

The governor’s new executive order, Executive Order 27, extends temporary social distancing and the stay-at-home provisions of previous executive orders that, among other things:

  • prohibited social gatherings of 10 or more people;
  • told restaurants, bars, and similar food and drink establishments to offer take-out or delivery options only;
  • directed gyms and fitness or exercise centers to temporarily close and suspend in-person services;
  • restricted visitation in nursing homes, retirement homes, and long-term care or assisted-living facilities; and
  • applied to close-contact personal services and entertainment and recreational gathering venues.

The “stay at home” order has been in place as Tennessee, like other states and countries around the world, tries to reduce the spread of COVID-19, a contagious respiratory illness that can be deadly.

[Read more…]

COVID-19 cases pass 4,000 in Tennessee

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Graph courtesy Ken Mayes (used with permission)

Note This story was last updated at 2:05 p.m

The number of COVID-19 cases in Tennessee passed 4,000 on Tuesday.

The Tennessee Department of Health reported 4,138 cases on Tuesday afternoon, with 72 deaths and 408 hospitalizations.

The number of cases in Anderson County increased by one to 11, after being at 10 for seven days. There have been no deaths in Anderson County due to COVID-19.

Knox County, which includes Knoxville, had 143 cases and three deaths, according to the state totals on Tuesday afternoon.

COVID-19 is a contagious respiratory illness that can be deadly.

The Tennessee Department of Health reported that 466 patients have recovered from COVID-19 in Tennessee. The Tennessee Department of Health publishes the state case totals at 2 p.m. Central time each day.

[Read more…]

COVID-19 cases pass 3,000 in Tennessee

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Graph by Ken Mayes (used with permission)

Note: This story was last updated at 3:30 p.m.

The number of COVID-19 cases in Tennessee passed 3,000 on Friday. There were 3,067 cases, with 37 deaths and 293 hospitalizations, according to the Tennessee Department of Health.

For the fourth straight day, the number of COVID-19 cases in Anderson County remained at 10.

COVID-19 is a contagious respiratory illness that can be deadly.

The 3,067 cases reported in Tennessee on Friday was about double the 1,537 reported on Sunday.

The number of deaths more than doubled in four days, up from 13 on Monday.

[Read more…]

Gov. Bill Lee issuing ‘stay at home’ order

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Bill Lee

Note: This story was last updated at 4:48 p.m.

On Thursday, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee said he will sign Executive Order 23 requiring that Tennesseans stay home unless they are carrying out essential activities. Lee said he is issuing the order because data shows an increase in movements across the state.

“We need all Tennesseans who can to stay home,” Lee said during a Thursday afternoon press conference that was broadcast online.

The governor issued a “safer at home” order this week that urged people to stay home except for essential business. But not as many are staying home as officials would like, and there had apparently been some disregard for the public health guidance.

“It’s dangerous, it’s unacceptable, and it’s a threat to life in the community,” Lee said.

The new order goes further, he said.

“Staying home is not an option,” Lee said. “It’s a requirement.”

[Read more…]