Publisher: Daily Memphian


Massive public health response will be needed for next wave

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In the lull after the surge, expected to end about May 11 here, Shelby County leaders need a plan for how to attack the second wave.“We need a greatly expanded team for identifying cases and contact tracing,” said Dr. Jon McCullers, “that hopefully will allow us to navigate additional waves without shutting down the economy.”


Predictions on COVID-19 surge differ, but all agree it’s coming

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The Surge. It’s coming. When will it arrive in Memphis and Shelby County? How long will it last? How large will it be? How many people will get sick? How many will die? Will we be prepared?


Memphis kindness blog, April 4: China donates face masks to UTHSC

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The University of Tennessee Health Science Center has received thousands of masks from from universities in China. Donald Thomason, dean of the College of Graduate Health Sciences, said the college has already received 2,000 masks from Hebei University and Hebei Medical University. Another 10,000 are en route from Harbin Medical University. First Hospital of Qiqihar… Read More


Efforts underway to increase COVID-19 testing sites in neighborhoods

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Several Shelby County commissioners also are pushing for county funding to open more testing sites in North and South Memphis and medical equipment supplies to combat the pandemic. One is Tami Sawyer, who had symptoms related to coronavirus and had to be tested twice at Christ Community Health Services over a two-week period, before receiving… Read More


First totals for local COVID testing show a qualified 10% positivity rate

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A week into the city’s declaration of a civil emergency, the Shelby County Health Department announced Friday, March 27, that 2,218 people have been tested for COVID-19 within the county since the public health crisis began.


Transmission rates set off new level of distancing urgency

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With cases ratcheting up 20 and 30 people a day in Shelby County, the rate of transmission is still thought to be a month or two from plateauing, which means health experts are pounding home social-distancing warnings.


Loss of smell may be an important clue in COVID-19 infection

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As the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic establishes itself in the United States, more details regarding the clinical course of those infected with the novel coronavirus overseas are emerging. Common symptoms such as fever, cough and shortness of breath are touted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as clues that a person… Read More


The Extra Podcast: Dr. Jon McCullers on the hard choices we might have to make during a pandemic

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If the notion of a dystopian society picking who should live and who should die during a viral pandemic upsets you, you really shouldn’t listen to this week’s edition of The Extra Podcast. Or maybe just skip forward to minute 13. Dr. Jon McCullers, an expert on infectious diseases at UTHSC as well as pediatrician… Read More