A third confirmed case of coronavirus in Shelby County was not contracted locally, officials say.
Health Department Director Alisa Haushalter said Tuesday that the unidentified individual is not from the U.S. but has been touring the country for months. The traveler fell ill and sought local medical attention.
“We know that person didn’t contract it here,” Haushalter said at a press conference. “But we also don’t know now where all that person has has been.”
Officials are working on cataloguing and contacting a list of individuals who interacted with the traveler.
The individual is one of the 114 people who are currently under some form of quarantine in the county.
Haushalter said the county is expected to begin rapid testing for COVID-19 at a pilot site this week.
As of now, there is no official recommendation to close restaurants and bars in Memphis as other cities across the country have done, but Haushalter said that could change and people should follow federal guidelines.
“People should not congregate in areas where there’s more than 10 people, and so that would mean limiting going into restaurants and limiting going into bars,” she said.
If officals determine there is community transmission of the virus or if the governor issues an order, local businesses may be required to shutter, Haushalter noted.
As of Tuesday afternoon, there were 73 confirmed cases of coronavirus statewide, mostly concentrated in middle Tennessee.
This will be updated.