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Governor Lee grants county mayors the authority to require masks

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Bill Lee

Note: This story was updated at 9:05 p.m.

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee on Friday granted county mayors in most of Tennessee to require or recommend face masks.

The governor’s order, Executive Order 54, is meant to allow county mayors to respond to significant increases in COVID-19 cases.

Tennessee’s densely populated areas, including the Memphis and Nashville areas, continue to have many of the state’s COVID-19 cases.

But local governments want more flexibility to respond to rising cases, and that includes “setting stronger expectations around masks,” Lee said in a press release Friday evening.

“This targeted approach ensures we protect both lives and livelihoods and safely keep our economy open in Tennessee,” the governor said. “We encourage every Tennessean across the state to use a face covering or mask, make sure to socially distance, and wash hands frequently.”

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ORNL Federal Credit Union requiring face masks in all branches

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The Oak Ridge branch of ORNL Federal Credit Union on Rutgers Avenue is pictured above on Friday, July 3, 2020. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

ORNL Federal Credit Union is requiring face masks in all branch offices starting today (Friday, July 3).

The credit union announced the policy in response to a decision by the Knox County Board of Health. The health board approved a public health order this week that requires masks in most indoor public places, the credit union said. Financial institutions are not exempt. The public health order, which is effective today, is in response to the increasing number of local and national COVID cases.

ORNL Federal Credit Union said face masks will be required in all of its branch offices, not just Knox County branches. Disposable face masks will be provided to members who do not have one, the credit union said. People who enter a branch without a mask will be asked to use the credit union’s digital or drive-through services.

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COVID-19 cases rise by 1,800, another new high

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A summary of COVID-19 cases in Tennessee through Wednesday, July 1, 2020. (Image courtesy Tennessee Department of Health)

Note: This story was last updated at 7:35 p.m.

COVID-19 cases in Tennessee rose by about 1,800 on Wednesday, another new high as the case count surges in Tennessee.

The previous high of 1,410 new cases was just five days ago, on Friday, June 26.

There were five new deaths reported Wednesday and 50 new hospitalizations. Current hospitalizations climbed from 527 on Monday to 574 on Tuesday.

Tennessee has now averaged more than 1,000 new cases per day for the last four days, which is a new trend. It’s not clear how long that trend might continue, if it continues.

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Tennessee reports more than 3,000 new COVID cases in three days

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A graph showing daily new COVID-19 cases in Tennessee through Monday, June 29, 2020. (Graph by Ken Mayes/Used with permission)

Tennessee reported more than 3,000 new COVID-19 cases in the past three days—an average of more than 1,000 new cases per day—and the number of cases has passed 100 in Anderson County.

There are now about 15,300 active cases in Tennessee and 32 active cases in Anderson County.

The Tennessee Department of Health did not report COVID-19 data on Sunday because of an unplanned shutdown of the state system. But the two-day numbers released Monday showed an average of more than 1,000 new cases per day for Sunday and Monday.

The state reported an additional 1,212 new cases on Tuesday. That is the second-highest new daily total reported since the first case was diagnosed in the state on Wednesday, March 4.

The highest daily total in Tennessee, 1,410, was reported just four days ago, on Friday.

The COVID-19 dashboard by the Tennessee Department of Health through Monday, June 29, 2020.

The Baker Center for Public Policy at the University of Tennessee said the seven-day average for new cases in the state has reached a new all-time high every day since June 24.

Hospitalizations are also at an all-time high. There have been an average of 47 new hospitalizations each day, the Baker Center said.

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Roane State plans to re-open in phases with COVID precautions

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Roane State Community College plans to re-open in phases with COVID-19 precautions, allowing students to access many of the services they need on campus before the fall semester, a press release said.

For the remainder of June, the following offices will operate from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the designated locations:

  • Bookstore (Roane County and Oak Ridge campuses)
  • Bursar/Business Office (Roane County and Oak Ridge campuses)
  • One Stop (all campus sites)

Beginning Monday, July 6, the offices listed above will transition to a Monday through Thursday schedule on the Roane County and Oak Ridge campuses from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m., the press release said. Success coaches will also begin a return to campus for in-person appointments. All campus sites will begin offering One Stop services on the four-day summer schedule. This schedule will continue for the remainder of July, the press release said.

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Roane State reports first confirmed case of COVID-19

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RSCC Coffey McNally Building Oak Ridge
The Coffey/McNally Building is pictured at the Oak Ridge campus of Roane State Community College. (Photo by Roane State)

On Thursday, June 18, a Roane State Community College student reported a positive COVID-19 test result to the college. The student has not shown any symptoms and is now quarantining at home, a press release said.

This is the first confirmed case of the virus on any of Roane State’s campuses, the press release said.

The positive case was found during a precautionary health screening required by a state licensing board and was conducted at a local health department, the press release said.

The student was reported to have been inside the Coffey-McNally Building of the Oak Ridge Branch Campus (ORBC) on Tuesday, June 16. Upon learning of the positive test result, the college began the process of closing the building and notifying each person who had been in direct contact with the student.

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Tennessee reports new daily high in COVID-19 cases

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A chart of daily new COVID-19 cases in Tennessee through Saturday, June 20, 2020. (Chart courtesy Ken Mayes, used with permission)

Note: This story was last updated at 12:30 p.m.

Tennessee reported 1,188 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, a new daily high, and the state passed 500 confirmed deaths on Saturday, according to the Tennessee Department of Health.

The new high in daily new cases occurred in the same week that the state reported what are now its third- and sixth-highest totals of new cases in one day: 885 on Sunday, June 14, and 726 on Monday, June 15.

Of the 1,188 new cases reported Friday, the state said 1,181 were new confirmed cases and seven were new probable cases.

The previous daily high was 1,156 on May 1. That was reported after a large number of new cases was diagnosed at Turner Trousdale Correctional Center, according to Nashville investigative reporter Phil Williams.

It’s not clear why there was a new high on Friday. There was a large number of new tests reported, 15,176. But the rate of positive results, 7.8 percent (comparing total new cases to total new tests), was in the range of the rate for the rest of the week, when the positive rate ranged between 4.9 percent and 8.8 percent.

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Photos: Old AMSE building being demolished

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The former American Museum of Science and Energy building on South Tulane Avenue is being demolished, and apartments are planned on the site. (Photo courtesy Mike Mahathy)

The former American Museum of Science and Energy building is being demolished, and apartments are planned on the site.

The apartment project is expected to include seven three-story buildings with 226 apartment units on 10 acres.

Now called Main Street Lofts, the $32 million apartment project has included an agreement to reduce property taxes and the transfer of what had been federal property from the U.S. Department of Energy to the city and then to TN Oak Ridge Illinois, a company affiliated with RealtyLink, the developer of Main Street Oak Ridge.

The apartments are being built as RealtyLink, a South Carolina company, plans to build more new stores across South Tulane Avenue at Main Street Oak Ridge, the redevelopment of the former Oak Ridge Mall.

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COVID-19 cases pass 30,000 in Tennessee

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Graph courtesy Ken Mayes (used with permission)

Note: This story was updated at 11:20 a.m.

The number of COVID-19 cases passed 30,000 in Tennessee on Sunday. The number of deaths is approaching 500, and the number of active cases in the state is over 10,000.

There are now 65 total cases (confirmed and probable) and 20 active cases in Anderson County. Those are both significant increases.

Across the state, there were 31,612 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 472 confirmed deaths on Tuesday, according to the Tennessee Department of Health. There were another 218 probable cases and another 21 probable deaths.

The number of cases in Anderson County appears to be generally increasing more rapidly. Through Friday, June 5, the Anderson County cases had been slowly climbing a case or two at time, and some days there were no new cases. But that seems to have changed around June 6. The case count climbed from 42 on Friday, June 5, to 50 on Tuesday, June 9. It rose to 60 on Monday, June 15, and it was 65 on Tuesday, June 16, the Tennessee Department of Health said.

The number of active cases in the county has been increasing as well. It had been in the range of five to eight active cases. It increased to 11 on Tuesday, June 9. On Tuesday, June 16, there were 20 active cases in Anderson County, according to health department data (65 total cases and 45 recovered).

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Protesters want life, liberty, justice

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Civil rights leader Reverend Harold Middlebrook tells Black Lives Matter protesters in Clinton on Thursday, June 11, 2020, that the movement will require more than a march. (Photo by John Huotari/oak Ridge Today)

CLINTON—Civil rights pioneer Anna Theresser Caswell asked people to not hate.

Civil rights leader Reverend Harold Middlebrook told local Black Lives Matters protesters that the movement will require more than a march.

Caswell and Middlebrook were two of about a dozen speakers at a Black Lives Matter march and protest that started at the Clinton football field and ended at Clinton Middle School on Thursday. Several hundred people attended.

Clinton Middle School is where the high school used to be. It was desegregated more than 60 years ago. It’s reported to have been the first high school in the South to desegregate under the U.S. Supreme Court decision Brown vs. Board of Education in 1954.

Caswell, 77, was one of the 12 Black teenagers who walked down from Green McAdoo School on Foley Hill and desegregated the old Clinton High School, which had been all-white, on August 27, 1956.

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Children’s Museum offers scaled-down summer camps

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A lab station activity at a STEM Carnival fascinates a young child. Oak Ridge Associated Universities hosted the carnival at the Children’s Museum. (Submitted photo)

 

The Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge will offer a scaled-down version of Imagination Station Summer Camp beginning June 29, with new safety precautions in place because of COVID 19.

Art, nature, clay, and Star Wars-themed camps—as well as STEM themes, backyard games, Japanese culture, and Oak Ridge history—will be among the camps.

“Our staff has been busy redesigning our exciting Summer Camp program in light of COVID-19 and the need for social distancing and other precautions, as advised by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,” said Beth Shea, Children’s Museum executive director. [Read more…]

More than 1,000 protest for equality, police reforms, end of racism

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Hundreds of people march from Oak Ridge High School to the Civic Center for a Black Lives Matter protest on Tuesday afternoon, June 2, 2020. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Note: This story was updated at 9:45 a.m. June 11.

More than 1,000 people marched and protested in Oak Ridge last week, asking for equal treatment for black people.

They said the nation is obligated to fight systemic racism, racial inequality, and police brutality. They want to live without fear. They advocated for police reforms, accountability, and the use of de-escalation tactics.

Protesters hope to end 400 years of oppression that started with slavery in America in 1619 and continued after the Civil War with attacks on black people, lynchings, the Ku Klux Klan, segregation, discrimination, and racism. That oppression has been felt in Oak Ridge, and some young adults and teenagers said they have experienced or witnessed racism.

Protesters said they were angry, upset, and frustrated. They called the death of George Floyd while he was detained by police in Minneapolis last month a murder. They recalled the deaths of other black men and boys, some killed by police and others by citizens. They acknowledged that there are many good police officers, but they condemned police officers who they said hide behind their badges to do wicked deeds.

“Enough is enough,” protesters said. “We are done dying.”

Hundreds of people meet at Oak Ridge High School before marching to Oak Ridge Civic Center for a Black Lives Matter protest on Tuesday afternoon, June 2, 2020. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Protesters met at Oak Ridge High School Tuesday afternoon, June 2, and marched to the Oak Ridge Civic Center. They carried signs and wore T-shirts that said “Black Lives Matter” and “I can’t breathe.” They chanted “No justice, no peace” and, led by organizer Trevor King, “Make racism illegal.” Silence is compliance, the protesters said, and silence in the face of evil is itself evil.

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