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COVID-19 cases pass 20,000 in Tennessee

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Graph by Ken Mayes (used with permission)

The number of COVID-19 cases in Tennessee passed 20,000 on Sunday.

The Tennessee Department of Health reported 20,145 confirmed cases on Sunday, with 336 deaths and 12,837 recoveries since the first case was reported in the state in early March.

It was a 1.8 percent daily increase in the number of new cases. During the past two weeks, the daily percentage increase has ranged from 0.6 percent to 3.7 percent.

The number of new cases reported in Tennessee each day has ranged between and 100 and 623. The number of new cases reported Sunday was 356.

The number of deaths reported per day has ranged between two fatalities and 14 the past two weeks. Seven deaths were reported on Sunday.

The doubling time in the number of cases—the amount of time it took to go from 10,000 cases to 20,000 cases—was 26 days. For deaths, it was about 32 days (166 deaths on April 22 and 336 on Sunday). That’s a longer doubling time than reported earlier in the pandemic in Tennessee.

The seven-day average of the percentage increase in new cases in Tennessee had dropped from 2.41 percent on May 12 to 1.79 percent on May 20, but it climbed back up to 2.11 percent on Sunday.

It’s not clear what impact, if any, the expiration of the “stay at home” order in April and the re-opening of businesses last month and this month have had on the increase in the number of cases.

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No Secret City Festival this year

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There will not be a Secret City Festival this year, organizers said Thursday.

In April, organizers had announced that the festival, which is normally in June, was postponed. But no new date was announced at that time.

On Thursday, the Secret City Festival board of directors said they have explored every option to have the festival in 2020, but “we have determined that we cannot provide the level of excellence this year that we wish to.”

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Restaurants, retailers can increase capacity; live music permitted; large attractions can re-open Friday

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Restaurants and retail stores in most of Tennessee’s counties can increase their capacity starting Friday if they follow certain guidelines, and large attractions such as amusement and water parks, auditoriums and theaters, and zoos and large museums can re-open under certain conditions on Friday.

Restaurants and retailers had been limited to 50 percent capacity since re-opening the week of April 27. There is no certain capacity limit for restaurants, as a percentage, under the updated guidelines released by the Tennessee Economic Recovery Group on Wednesday. Instead, the focus is on making sure tables are properly spaced.

The restaurants and retailers had been closed for about a month as the state tried to reduce the spread of COVID-19, a contagious respiratory disease that can be deadly.

Under the new guidelines, restaurants and retail stores can increase their capacity starting Friday as long as they continue to follow social distancing protocols. For restaurants, those protocols include continuing to space tables six feet apart—or installing physical barriers where adequate separation isn’t possible. Bars are to remain closed unless they are used for seated, in-restaurant dining where there is six feet of separation between customer groups. Live music is permitted with certain precautions, including maintaining at least 15 feet of separation between performers and an audience in order to reduce potential exposures.

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TVA re-opens most recreation areas, campgrounds

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The Tennessee Valley Authority’s Melton Hill Dam is pictured above. (Photo courtesy TVA)

Most recreation areas and six dam reservation campgrounds developed by the Tennessee Valley Authority, including at Melton Hill Dam, were scheduled to re-open on Friday, May 15. The areas were closed in March as part of the overall federal and state response to slowing the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

Seventeen TVA recreation areas were scheduled to re-open, while the Pickwick recreation area is only partially re-opening due to ongoing repair work from spring flooding, a press release said. Four additional recreation areas will remain closed due to maintenance and repair activities unrelated to COVID-19: Kentucky Dam West Bank Road (walk-in access to fishing areas is permitted), Raccoon Mountain, Tellico, and the Wilson Dam Rockpile Recreation Area.

Consistent with current federal and state guidance, restroom facilities, large-group pavilions, and playgrounds will remain closed in the re-opened recreation areas, the press release said. In addition, all TVA visitors’ centers remain closed.

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Covenant Health testing blood plasma treatment in COVID-19 patients

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Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge, which is part of Covenant Health, is pictured above. (Submitted photo)

Covenant Health hospitals, including Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge, are testing blood plasma to treat COVID-19 patients.

It’s part of a nationwide effort to treat some COVID-19 patients with convalescent plasma transfusions as part of a clinical trial. The convalescent plasma is donated by patients who have recovered from COVID-19. As part of an experiment, it is being given to current COVID-19 patients who are experiencing severe or life-threatening symptoms, Covenant Health announced Friday.

Plasma is the liquid component of blood that contains many useful proteins and antibodies.

“It is commonly used in the daily practice of medicine for treating certain conditions,” said Covenant Health pathologist Mark Williams, a doctor who is the principal investigator for the clinical trial. “Convalescent plasma refers to plasma that has been donated by patients who have recovered from COVID-19 and is likely to contain antibodies to the SARS-CoV 2 virus.”

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For members: New stores planned at Main Street, but construction suspended

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A crew works in the area of the second phase of construction of Main Street Oak Ridge on Thursday, March 5, 2020. The construction work has since been suspended. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Four new stores are planned at Main Street Oak Ridge, but construction has been suspended for now.

The four new stores are Five Below, Home Goods, Old Navy, and Ross Dress for Less. The retailers have signed leases, and their stores could be ready to open as soon as the spring of 2021, said Neil Wilson, principal of the development company, TN Oak Ridge Rutgers LLC. The new stores would be between JCPenney and PetSmart. That includes some of the area where the roundabout used to be.

But construction of the building that would contain the new stores has been suspended.

“Retailers are postponing the opening of new stores and re-thinking the size and configuration of store footprints,” Wilson told Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson in an April 20 letter. “As a result, the retail developers are delaying the construction of the building to house those new stores.”

Wilson said TN Oak Ridge Rutgers LLC is trying hard to get the project back into its development timeline in 60 days. The storage facility, which has previously been considered by city officials, is part of the effort to get the project back on track, he said.

Wilson said retailers are suffering because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He said the estimated growth in global retail for 2020 will be cut in half from the levels that were forecast before COVID-19.

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The types of stores that will be hit the hardest are “short-term, fashion, furniture, and electronics retailers,” Wilson said. Customers will buy fewer of those discretionary items, choosing instead to stock up on food and household supplies.

But in the meantime, construction could proceed quickly on a three-story self-storage facility at Main Street Oak Ridge. It would be along Rutgers Avenue, behind Burkes Outlet, Electronic Express, and PetSmart. The self-storage market is doing well, Wilson said.

Some residents and city officials, including members of the Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission, have opposed the proposed self-storage facility or shown little interest in it.

But in a split vote Monday, the Oak Ridge City Council voted 4-3 to approve a zoning change that could allow it. The zoning ordinance amendment, which did not specifically approve the Main Street Oak Ridge project, is expected to be considered for final approval during another City Council meeting in June.

The rest of this story, which includes background information and information about the City Council vote, is available if you are a member: an advertiser, sponsor, or subscriber to Oak Ridge Today.

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Council meets electronically this evening

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The Oak Ridge Municipal Building is pictured above on Tuesday evening, May 5, 2020. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Oak Ridge City Council will meet electronically this evening (Monday, May 11).

Council members will participate in the virtual meeting, which starts at 7 p.m., through audio and video conferencing. It will be streamed online on the City of Oak Ridge website and broadcast on Comcast Channel 12.

Residents are asked to watch the meeting because the executive order by Tennessee Governor Bill that limits public gatherings in order to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. The Oak Ridge Municipal Building will not be open to the public, a press release said.

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Oak Ridge City Court to re-open today

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Oak Ridge City Court was scheduled to resume in-person court proceedings today (Monday, May 11), with some changes because of COVID-19.

The changes, made for health and safety reasons, include:

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Waste Connections accepting large items, brush this month

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Image courtesy City of Oak Ridge

The Waste Connections Convenience Center on Warehouse Road had temporarily stopped accepting bulk items and brush and yard waste due to COVID-19.

But the center is accepting these items again this month.

The convenience center was scheduled to start accepting bulk items and metal on Monday, May 4. It is scheduled to begin accepting brush and yard waste on Monday, May 18.

A bulk item is something that doesn’t fit in your garbage can. Examples include furniture, appliances, electronics, wood waste, and tires.

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Alexander in self-quarantine after staff member tests positive for COVID-19

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Lamar Alexander
Lamar Alexander

U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander, a Tennessee Republican, is in self-quarantine after a staff member tested positive for COVID-19, the contagious respiratory illness that can be deadly.

The staff member, who has not been publicly identified, tested positive on Sunday, David Cleary, the senator’s chief of staff, said in a statement. The staff member is recovering at home and doing well, the statement said.

Alexander has no symptoms, and he tested negative for COVID-19 on Thursday afternoon, Cleary said.

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Y-12 transitioning back to normal operations with telework

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The Y-12 National Security Complex is pictured above. (Photo courtesy CNS Y-12)

The Y-12 National Security Complex began a transition back to normal operations with as much telework as possible on Thursday, April 30.

It’s a staged transition. That means employees are being brought back incrementally, or in stages. That’s according to a response to questions provided by Kathryn King, spokesperson for Consolidated Nuclear Security, the plant’s managing and operating contractor.

A significant number of employees are teleworking, which means they are working remotely, King said.

Y-12 began limited operations on April 6 and transitioned to mission-critical operations on April 14 because of the COVID-19 global pandemic.

“But the prevalence of the virus in the community has steadily decreased as has the number of employees under quarantine because of a potential exposure to COVID-19,” King said.

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Municipal Building, playgrounds remain closed; greenways, parks open

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The Oak Ridge Municipal Building is pictured above on Tuesday evening, May 5, 2020. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Oak Ridge Municipal Building remains closed to the public but is moving to a public check-in area where visitors can be escorted to secured areas of the building, City Manager Mark Watson said in an update Tuesday.

Playgrounds and basketball courts remain closed. Disinfection options are being reviewed for limited open times, the update said.

The Oak Ridge Public Library will begin curbside delivery of library materials beginning in mid-May, the update said.

Oak Ridge City Court is working to resume in-person hearings on May 11 with COVID-19 precautions, the update said. COVID-19 is a contagious respiratory illness that can be deadly. It has caused a global pandemic.

The city manager’s update said there is planning for a phased re-opening of the Oak Ridge Senior Center.

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