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.
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.
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
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
By some measures, as Memphis finishes its first week of a significant shutdown, the state of the coronavirus pandemic locally is not too bad: There have been no deaths. There are only a handful of coronavirus patients hospitalized. There are about 500 empty hospital beds in the metro Memphis area. There are “thousands of tests”… Read More
Eliza is a vibrant, exuberant and opinionated 4-year-old, according to mother, Rachael Boer. She looks healthy, but she has primary ciliary dyskinesia, a disorder characterized by chronic respiratory tract infections and sinus problems, among other issues. She’s had it since the day she was born, the same day her parents adopted her.
The quiet that descends on the city now as nonessential businesses are closed is imperative for the fight in what is still an early epidemic here, according to the head of the health department.
As thousands get tested here, one of the unspoken worries is the number of false negatives, either because the infection wasn’t full blown when the test was taken, the swabbing wasn’t deep enough (it’s uncomfortable and people pull away) or the tests are inconsistent.
