Tag: Shelby County Health Department

The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Shelby County has tripled to 30 as of Friday afternoon, according to the Shelby County Health Department.

Alisa Haushalter, director of the Shelby County Health Department, said the significant jump in cases is due to new testing results being reported to the department by commercial labs.

Head of the county health department said Wednesday that there is still no evidence of COVID-19 community spread in Shelby County, but that the fourth case could be a predictor of such spread.

Alisa Haushalter, director of the Shelby County Health Department said the fourth case, confirmed late Tuesday, has no connection to the first three and that’s a “red flag.”

Haushalter said when there are cases that cannot be connected to other cases or to travel, that indicates community spread.

If the county does experience community spread, Haushalter said the health department will need to take a “more aggressive approach to being able to prevent spread.”

Haushalter said the county anticipates identifying more cases moving forward.

Patients one and two were related and had both recently traveled to New Orleans.

The third individual is said to have traveled “extensively” in the United States and returned to Shelby County as they were becoming ill. Haushalter said this means they did not contract COVID-19 in the county.

The fourth patient, a Shelby County resident, has not recently traveled outside of the county, but is said to have recently had out-of-state visitors with mild respiratory symptoms.

The health department is still doing contact investigations to determine whom patients three and four may have had contact with, but initial interviews indicate that the third patient was “out and about in the community.”

The number of confirmed cases is up to 98 across the state with the majority of those concentrated in Middle Tennessee.

A third case of COVID-19 has been confirmed in Shelby County, according to the Shelby County Health Department.

Alisa Haushalter, director of the county health department, said Tuesday that this case is not connected to the first two in the county.

The third individual is said to have traveled “extensively” in the United States and returned to Shelby County as they were becoming ill. Haulshalter said this means they did not contract COVID-19 in the county.

Haushalter said it’s not clear at the time where the third patient has been or who they’ve had contact with. The department is currently looking for individuals who may have come into contact with the patient and will share more information about that Wednesday.

The number of confirmed cases is up to 73 across the state, the majority of those concentrated in Middle Tennessee.

Currently, 144 individuals in Shelby County are under some form of public health monitoring. That includes those who are self-monitoring and who are under quarantine.

Haulshalter said the county and city are working with the University of Tennessee to create a pilot site to perform expedited testing locally. The goal is to open by the end of this week.

However, Haulshalter said she is unable to say how many tests will be available, “but what we can say is every day we are working toward having more tests and there’s a variety of ways people will be able to get tested in the future, but I can’t give exact numbers at this time.”

County health officials maintain that there is still no evidence of community transmission in the county at this time, but determining where all the third patient went in the county, “could change that equation.”

“Additionally, as soon as we have cases that we can’t link to the first or second case, then we will say we are moving more toward community transmission,” Haulshalter. “The thing that is really important and a strength of Shelby County is early case finding.”

Find more up-to-date information about COVID-19 here.

Head of the Shelby County Health Department said Wednesday that employers and individuals should begin thinking about taking extra precautions in light of the coronavirus being declared a pandemic.

Alisa Haushalter, director of the health department, said there are no new cases in Shelby County and that the county is still in the containment phase of managing the outbreak, but “at some point we may move into mitigation, which is broader community strategies.”

“When we know that there is increased transmission, either worldwide, or in this case Middle Tennessee, we have to have heightened awareness,” Haushalter said at a Wednesday press conference.

As of Wednesday there are nine confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Tennessee: one case each in Shelby and Sullivan counties, two in Davidson County, and four in Williamson County.

There are more than 1,000 cases of the coronavirus in the United States, which have resulted in 29 deaths, according to the latest numbers by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Haushalter said the World Health Organization’s declaring COVID-19 a pandemic is important because “that means there is significant transmission worldwide.”

At this point, Haushalter recommends that workplaces and organizations do the following:

• Assess their continuity of operations plan and determine how they would operate if they had a significant number of team members out

• Look at their sick leave policies and ensure they are able to support individuals staying at home if they are ill

• Create an environment where people don’t come to work coughing and running a fever so that if people are sick they are not spreading it in the work environment

For individuals, Haushalter said “it’s critical now that they begin to look very closely at travel and make prudent decisions to avoid places where there is active transmission of the disease.”

Seniors and those who have chronic illnesses should be “particularly aware of travel” and should consider keeping a “social distance” and avoiding large crowds.

Haulshalter also reiterated the importance of hand washing for at least 20 second with soap and water, avoiding touching the face, and staying home if you are sick with any respiratory symptoms or running a fever.

Haulshalter advised that people who think they might have the coronavirus should call ahead before visiting a health care provider.

The county is convening a task force to ensure that the social needs of quarantined families are being met. County officials are also working with the local health care community to make sure uninsured individuals have access to appropriate and adequate treatment, Haulshalter said.

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As of Wednesday, approximately 80 people who came into contact with the Shelby County patient have been quarantined.

“I feel confident that we have an exhaustive list of contacts,” Haushalter said. “Our staff has interviewed all of those individuals and determined what risk category they fit in and taken appropriate action to make sure they are either self-monitoring or quarantined.”

Joris Ray, superintendent of Shelby County Schools also spoke at Wednesday’s press conference. Ray is sticking to the decision to keep schools open, until advised otherwise by the health department.

“We want to consult with the experts,” Ray said. “I don’t want to make an isolated decision. Because at the end of the day, students’ education is so important. And when you close a school, sometimes our students don’t get a chance to eat. You know, breakfast and lunch is provided. And a day without education, is a day that our students won’t learn to read.”

Check the health department’s webpage dedicated to COVID-19 for more information. The University of Tennessee Health Science Center also has a page dedicated to updated COVID-19 information.

Shelby County officials have also launched their own portal with up-to-date, essential information about the virus.

See a list of precautionary measures places around town are taking here.