© 2024 WKNO FM
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

"Remain Steadfast," Health Officials Say of Safer at Home Restrictions

Courtesy of the Tennessee Department of Health

 

Shelby County is about three weeks into its most recent round of COVID-19 related business restrictions, which scaled back capacity for restaurants and retailers and discouraged in-person dining. But even with some early indications that the post holiday surge may be stabilizing, health officials say it’s too soon to determine if they’ll lift the “Safer at Home” order when it expires next week.  

“Now is not the time to let your foot off the gas,” said Shelby County health officer Dr. Bruce Randloph at a press conference Thursday. “We really must remain steadfast and continue to do the things that allowed us to get to this point.”

That means people should continue to avoid gathering with those outside their households, he says, and wear masks in public. And for the moment, businesses still need to cap the number of people they serve at one time.

After stretching the limits of the local hospital system with a record number of COVID-19 patients filling beds last week, that number has fallen in recent days. Still, about one-fifth of all current hospitalized patients in the Memphis-area are sick with COVID-19, not including those awaiting test results.  

But, other measures of the local pandemic’s intensity have also shown signs of improvement, which indicate that safety measures are working, says David Sweat, deputy director of the health department. 

The virus’ reproductive rate—also known as a Rt number—which tracks how many infections each new positive case creates, has dropped. It’s now at 1.01, but it still means infections will continue growing until it falls below one. 

“We are reducing the rate of increase, [but] we are still increasing or maintaining at a plateau though,” Sweat said. “We need to stay the course so that we can continue to drive that Rt down below one and begin to shrink the number of future cases.” 

In the meantime, the county’s best hope for significantly reversing the pandemic is through vaccinations. Shots are still limited at this time by the national supply chain, health officials say. As of Monday, less than two percent of the local population had receivedone dose of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine and less than one percent of residents are considered fully immunized, having received their follow-up booster shot.  

The county’s supply of almost 9,000 weekly doses for the remainder of the month are being split between hospital systems, who are inoculating their own employees, and the health department. The health department is administering their allotment at an appointment only drive-thru site to the state’s top priority groups, including healthcare workers and those over age 75. All slots are currenlty full.

As supply increases, most likely after the Biden administation takes office, the county intends to open more mass vaccination facilities, including one in Whitehaven.