A “Back to Business Framework” was announced today (4.27.20) in a press conference attended by Mayors of Memphis, Shelby County and all the municipalities including Lakeland. The goal is to reopen the Shelby County economy in phases.
Also attending the press conference was Dr. Alisa Haushalter, Shelby County Health Department (SCHD); Dr. Manoj Jain, City of Memphis; Dr. Jon McCullers, UTHSC; and Dr. Jeff Warren, Memphis City Council District 9 Position 3.
A specific date to begin the first of the phases has not been decided. It will be based on a continued downward trend of daily numbers from the SCHD for 14 consecutive days.
Working through the Joint COVID-19 Task Force, the government officials have implemented proactive measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. These measures have helped mitigate the progression of the disease locally.
While the community should remain vigilant about adhering to social distancing guidelines and hygiene practices, local government must also evaluate measures that help alleviate some burdens on the economy.
Back to Business is a data-driven phased approach to reopening the economy in Shelby County and is driven by indicators (measurements of the status of the pandemic) and conditions (measurements of our capacity to deal with the pandemic.)
Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland said he could not commit to a timeframe on beginning the phased opening. There will be daily weekday briefings by the Shelby County Health Department to better communicate to the public.
Indicators such as number of new cases and hospitalizations must remain stable or decline for 14 days. In addition, hospitals must have the capacity to treat all patients and testing and tracing capability must be efficient for containing the virus.
Asked how far along is the County in the 14 days, Dr. Haushalter said numbers are checked daily, evenings and mornings.
All area mayors spoke this afternoon including Lakeland Mayor Mike Cunningham. “I just want to start by saying a ton of gratitude for the leadership you’ve seen today. We have worked tirelessly for the last several weeks not only to keep the public safe but to make a plan to reopen.
Mayor Cunningham thanked the Shelby County Health Department for their guidance. “I want to thank our city staff. They have worked tirelessly to maintain city services, running at half staff and doing the things necessary to be successful as a city in this particular pandemic. And to our citizens, I thank you greatly for your patience and your ability to stay the course and practice social distancing and we will get through this.”
From Mayor Strickland:
“I’ve said from the beginning, that all our decisions are based on data and recommendations from medical experts. This is no different. Our social distancing efforts and Safer at Home Order have shown promise. They have put us in a position to consider slowly and methodically opening up our city to get back to business. Many hours of hard work went into this plan, and the spirit of collaboration has been truly amazing to witness. I want to thank the other mayors and everyone involved for making this happen.”
From Mayor Harris:
“Over the past several weeks, the municipal mayors and leadership from the Joint COVID-19 Task Force have consulted with the health department and local healthcare professionals to identify steps to get residents back to work safely. We’ve worked collaboratively and used data to drive decisions about when and how to restart our economy. After many, many work sessions, we developed a phased reopening approach. This approach is not based on a specific date. Instead, phased reopening is based on continued monitoring of data, and continued emphasis on social distancing.”
