After careful study of the data, and on the advice of our medical experts including the Shelby County Health Department, I along with Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris and the six surrounding municipal mayors announced earlier today that May 4, 2020 is the date that we will begin Phase 1 of our Back-to-Business framework.
Our data has been trending in the right direction, and we believe it’s time to methodically start opening our economy back up to get Memphians working again. As we have said since the beginning, we will continue to monitor this situation very closely to make sure our citizens remain safe and healthy.
The full Back-to-Business plan and more in-depth information on our COVID-19 Protocol requirements can be seen here.
A word from Dr. Jon McCullers
Dr. McCullers serves as Dunavant Professor and Chair, Department of Pediatrics
Senior Executive Associate Dean of Clinical Affairs
Chief Operating Officer
College of Medicine, The University of Tennessee Health Science Center
Pediatrician-in-Chief, Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
Starting roughly a week after Mayor Strickland’s Safer at Home Executive Order took effect, we have seen a stable rate of new cases per day between 60 and 70. If we look over the last four weeks, that has been 66 new cases per day on average. We do see variations in the data when looking at daily changes; we test more on Fridays and Saturdays and less on Sunday which have caused some highs and lows (weather also impacts the community testing), but the trend is clear – the Safer at Home Order has tamped down community transmission such that our rate of new cases is now stable.
The trend in hospitalizations, ICU utilization, and ventilator utilization has clearly been downward from its peak in early April (see graph attached). There is variation from the PUIs and day-to-day in bed utilization, but we had several cases in early April. We have much fewer now, and capacity is good at present. As we move forward, this is one measure I am most interested in watching for upward trends.
Additionally, I believe testing capacity in the community is continuing to expand and to reach more areas of the community. I feel very comfortable that we have sufficient capacity in the community at present by two measures:
- We are only utilizing about 45% of our capacity at present, and
- The positivity rate has been around 5% over the last week or so when you exclude the targeted testing in jails/nursing homes. My target for community testing capacity is to stay around a 4% mark or lower, because that is where successful countries have fallen on the scale.
Overall, I feel like we have a stable rate of new cases, believe we have a stable rate of new cases, have seen a decline in utilization of hospital beds and are now in a steady state with day to day variation in bed utilization. We have sufficient capacity in the hospitals, in our testing capacity, and public health areas to justify relaxing some restrictions at this time. Throughout the reopening, we will continue to monitor the data as it comes to us.
Shelby County Health Department COVID-19 Daily Update: April 30, 2020
COVID-19 Cases | ||
Shelby County Cases | 2484 | |
Deaths | 47 | |
Total Tested in Shelby County | 28,124 | |
Tennessee Total Cases | 10,366* *As of 2:00 p.m. 4/29/20 | |
Other Jurisdictions: | ||
Tipton County, TN | 98 | |
Desoto County, MS | 277 | |
Crittenden County, AR | 181 | |
Numbers current as of 10:00 a.m. 4/30/2020 | ||
Shelby County currently has 2484 confirmed COVID-19 cases. The total number of deaths in Shelby County attributed to COVID-19 to 47.
Total COVID-19 Cases Recovered in Shelby County as of 04/29/2020

Data Source: National Electronic Disease Surveillance System (NEDSS)
Note: “Recovered“ is defined as (1) people who are living and have been confirmed to be asymptomatic by the health department and have completed their required isolation period
or (2) are at least 21 days beyond the first test confirming their illness.
The Shelby County Health Department is investigating clusters of infection in a number of facilities that serve vulnerable populations.

Map of COVID-19 testing in Shelby County as of 04/29/2020

Data Source: National Electronic Disease Surveillance System (NEDSS)
Map of COVID-19 Positive test in Shelby County as of 04/29/2020

Data Source: National Electronic Disease Surveillance System (NEDSS)
Here is a breakdown of current cases in Shelby County by age range:
COVID-19 Cases in Shelby County by Age as of 04/29/2020

Data Source: National Electronic Disease Surveillance System (NEDSS)
COVID-19 Cases in Shelby County by Age as of 04/29/2020

Missing/Unknown = 39 (1.6 %)
Data Source: National Electronic Disease Surveillance System (NEDSS)
Shelby County COVID-29 Cases by Race and Ethnicity as of 4/29/20




Data Source: National Electronic Disease Surveillance System (NEDSS)
Shelby County Health Department has added a data page to its COVID-19 webpage: www.shelbytnhealth.com/coronavirus. It includes information about the geographic distribution of COVID-19 cases in Shelby County.
All of Shelby County, including the municipalities and the unincorporated areas are under Safer at Home orders. Only essential businesses as spelled out in Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris’s executive order of March 24, 2020, may remain open to the public. All assemblies and gatherings of more than 10 people outside of a private residence are prohibited. The list of essential and non-essential businesses can be viewed here.
For more information about the Safer at Home order or to register concerns, the public may contact:
· The Shelby County Mayor’s Action Line: 901-222-2300
· The Shelby County Health Department’s COVID-19 Hotline: 833-943-1658
· Email shelbytnhealth@shelbycountytn.gov.