Oak Ridge Today

Governor ends COVID emergency

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Bill Lee

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee did not renew the COVID-19 state of emergency that expired Friday night, but he reserved the right to use it again if there are future surges of the virus.

“I am not renewing the COVID-19 state of emergency that expires tonight,” Lee said in a brief statement Friday. “For almost 20 months, this tool has provided deregulation and operational flexibility for hospitals and industries most affected by COVID’s challenges. Should our state face any future surges, we will consider temporarily reinstating this tool, but in the meantime, we are evaluating opportunities for permanent deregulation.”

In the third major statewide surge, this one caused by the delta variant, COVID-19 cases peaked in Anderson County in the first half of September, with a high seven-day average of 89.6 cases on September 11 and a peak of 152 cases on September 10. New cases fell after that but plateaued at about 15-17 new cases per day in late October, and they have remained there for about three weeks. That’s still considerably higher than the summer low average of fewer than one new COVID case per day, on average, in late June and early July, before the delta variant surge started in about mid-July.

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Updated: Mask mandate terminated at Oak Ridge Schools

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Bill Lee

 

The face mask mandate at Oak Ridge Schools has been terminated in response to new state legislation signed into law by Tennessee Governor Bill Lee.

Oak Ridge Schools notified families of the change last week.

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Bill Lee

Note: This story was last updated at 7 a.m. Nov. 16.

The face mask mandate at Oak Ridge Schools has been terminated in response to new state legislation signed into law by Tennessee Governor Bill Lee.

Bill Lee

 

The face mask mandate at Oak Ridge Schools has been terminated in response to new state legislation signed into law by Tennessee Governor Bill Lee.

Oak Ridge Schools notified families of the change last week.

The rest of this story is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or contributor to Oak Ridge Today.

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Covenant Health will comply with COVID vaccine mandate

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Methodist Medical Center Main Entrance
Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge is pictured above.

Covenant Health is among the hospital organizations in the Knoxville area that will comply with the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for facilities that participate in the Medicare and Medicaid programs.

The hospitals announced on Thursday that they plan to comply.

“On November 4, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a COVID-19 vaccination mandate for health care facilities that participate in Medicare and Medicaid programs to protect health care workers, patients, families, and visitors from COVID-19,” a press release said. “CMS is very clear that non-compliance with this mandate will result in severe penalties to hospitals, up to and including exclusion from participation in Medicare.”

Covenant includes Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge and other local health care facilities.

Other organizations planning to comply with the vaccine mandate include Blount Memorial Hospital, East Tennessee Children’s Hospital, Sweetwater Hospital Association, and The University of Tennessee Medical Center.

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Unclear how City of Oak Ridge affected by president’s vaccination mandate

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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 City of Oak Ridge does not currently require its employees or residents to be vaccinated against COVID-19 under a state law passed this year, a municipal attorney said Tuesday.

But it’s not clear if that state law could be in conflict with a vaccination or testing mandate that President Joe Biden announced this month.

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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 City of Oak Ridge does not currently require its employees or residents to be vaccinated against COVID-19 under a state law passed this year, a municipal attorney said Tuesday.

That state law, Senate Bill 187 and House Bill 13 (Public Chapter 513), bars the city from COVID-19 vaccination requirements, said Alexander J. Cramer, staff attorney in the City of Oak Ridge Legal Department.

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

The City of Oak Ridge does not currently require its employees or residents to be vaccinated against COVID-19 under a state law passed this year, a municipal attorney said Tuesday.

But it’s not clear if that state law could be in conflict with a vaccination or testing mandate that President Joe Biden announced this month.

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Secret City Festival has free admission to concerts

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A previous Secret City Festival is pictured above. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

The Secret City Festival will offer free admission to concerts this weekend after daytime activities were canceled because of the resurgence of COVID-19 cases.

The concerts are Jimmie Allen on Friday, September 24, and All-4-One on Saturday, September 25. Gates open at 6 p.m., and the concerts start at 7. The concerts are in Alvin K. Bissell Park in Oak Ridge.

The concerts will be first-come, first-served. Capacity is limited to 50 percent, a press release said.

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UCOR requiring COVID vaccinations

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UCOR is requiring its employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

The requirement applies to all of its nearly 2,000 employees, and it is a condition of employment, the company said Tuesday.

The vaccination requirement was announced by UCOR President and CEO Ken Rueter on August 26.

The company, an Amentum-led partnership with Jacobs, is the U.S. Department of Energy’s lead environmental cleanup contractor on the Oak Ridge Reservation, and it has an award-winning safety record, the company said. Rueter said that the decision to require the vaccine was in line with the company’s commitment to safety and its culture of caring.

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Updated: Secret City Festival cancels daytime activities

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Note: This story was updated at 9:10 a.m. Sept. 12.

Daytime activities have been canceled at the Secret City Festival this month as the state and county experience a COVID-19 surge driven by the delta variant. However, the evening concerts, food trucks, and fireworks have not been canceled.

“Due to the ongoing resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Festival Board has been in discussions with the City of Oak Ridge, where concerns were raised about our ability to hold a viable, safe, and successful event,” Naomi Asher, marketing chair for the festival, said in response to questions Saturday. “Sadly, we must cancel all daytime festival activities, so that what we will be left with are the two evening concerts, food trucks, and fireworks.”

Asher said the Festival Board and City of Oak Ridge made the decision.

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Hospitals urge vaccinations as COVID hospitalizations, infections rise

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Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge is pictured above. (Submitted file photo)

Hospitals and health care networks in East Tennessee on Wednesday urged those who are eligible to get vaccinated as COVID-19 infections rise and hospitalizations reach and pass winter peak levels. They also encouraged people to wear face masks and maintain physical distances when possible.

“The past 18 months have been difficult for everyone in many ways, and the surge in COVID-19 infections over the past months has been exceptionally challenging,” the hospitals and health care networks said in a joint statement. “We have seen a sharp rise in delta variant-related infections, and community hospitalizations have exceeded the COVID-related census we witnessed in January 2021.”

The statement was from Blount Memorial Hospital, Covenant Health (which includes Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge), East Tennessee Children’s Hospital, Sweetwater Hospital Association, Tennova Healthcare, and University of Tennessee Medical Center.

The statement recognized that people are eager to move on from the coronavirus pandemic, and it said vaccinations will help.

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ORNL will require COVID-19 vaccinations

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The main entrance at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. (Photo courtesy ORNL)

Oak Ridge National Laboratory will require all staff members to have a current COVID-19 vaccination by October 15, and new employees will be required to provide proof that they have been vaccinated.

UT-Battelle LLC, which manages the laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy, decided to require vaccinations after the Food and Drug Administration approved the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine on Monday, August 23.

The main entrance at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. (Photo courtesy ORNL)


  Oak Ridge National Laboratory will require all staff members to have a current COVID-19 vaccination by October 15, and new employees will be required to provide proof that they have been vaccinated.

UT-Battelle LLC, which manages the laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy, decided to require vaccinations after the Food and Drug Administration approved the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine on Monday, August 23.

The rest of this story is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or contributor to Oak Ridge Today. Already a member? Great! Thank you! Sign in here. Not a member? No problem! Subscribe here: Basic

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COVID cases increasing much faster in schools this year

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This graph compares COVID-19 cases in Oak Ridge Schools at the beginning of the school years 2020 and 2021. (Chart by Oak Ridge Today with Oak Ridge School data and Flourish visualization)

So far, the number of COVID-19 cases in Oak Ridge Schools has increased about 15 times faster this year than last year.

At about this time last year, there were 12 cases of COVID-19 reported in Oak Ridge Schools.

This year, in the same time period, there have been 181 cases reported.

Graphing the two together makes last year’s increase in cases seem relatively flat compared to the large increase in cases this year.

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Oak Ridge school board approves mask mandate

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Oak Ridge school board member Angi Agle, right, proposed a mask mandate inside Oak Ridge school buildings, and her motion was seconded by board member Ben Stephens, left. The school board approved the mandate, which has a written opt-out per an executive order by Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, in a 3-1 vote on Monday, Aug. 23, 2021.

Note: This story was last updated at 12 a.m.

The Oak Ridge Board of Education approved a mask mandate in a 3-1 vote on Monday.

The approval of the mask mandate, which is similar to a mandate at four Anderson County schools, occurred as the school system reported about 180 COVID-19 cases among students and staff members in less than three weeks. COVID cases have now been reported at all schools: the preschool, all four elementary schools, both middle schools, the high school, and Secret City Academy.

The mask mandate approved Monday will require masks indoors in school buildings unless the school system has received a written opt-out notice from a parent or guardian in compliance with an executive order issued by Tennessee Governor Bill Lee last week.

The Oak Ridge school year started Wednesday, July 28, with face masks being optional. However, as cases increased significantly in three schools, masks were required there. Those three schools were Jefferson Middle School, Robertsville Middle School, and Willow Brook Elementary School.

But when the governor announced his order last week, Oak Ridge Schools said it would no longer require masks. That changed with the mandate approved by the school board on Monday.

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Vaccinations double as COVID cases increase

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New daily vaccinations have about doubled in Anderson County in the 40 days since COVID-19 cases began increasing on July 12, 2021. However, the increase in average daily vaccinations has not been as large as the increase in average daily cases, according to calculations by Oak Ridge Today. And less than 50 percent of Anderson County residents are fully vaccinated. (Chart by Oak Ridge Today using Tennessee Department of Health data and Flourish)

New daily vaccinations have about doubled in Anderson County in the 40 days since COVID-19 cases began increasing.

However, the increase in the seven-day average of daily vaccinations has not been as large as the increase in cases, according to calculations by Oak Ridge Today. And less than 50 percent of Anderson County residents are fully vaccinated.

The number of new COVID-19 cases reported each day began rising again in Anderson County on July 12 as the United States began experiencing a fourth surge driven by the more transmissible Delta variant.

From July 12-18, Anderson County reported a daily average of five new COVID cases per day. At the same time, there were 98.4 new vaccines per day.

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