ADVISORY: Governor Lee to Deliver Statewide Address Regarding COVID-19 Surge
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee will deliver a statewide address to Tennesseans regarding the COVID-19 surge on Sunday, December 20 at 7:00 p.m. CDT. Governor Lee’s remarks will be broadcast on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/GovBillLee, and YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/c/govbilllee.
Health Department COVID-19 Testing – Testing Changes
Beginning Monday, December 21, 2020, all COVID-19 testing is being moved to the Community Complex at 1398 Livingston Road, Crossville, TN 38571. The testing will be conducted at that location for a minimum of two weeks. At that time the site will be evaluated to determine if testing will remain at the Community Complex or if it will move back to the Health Department.
Tennessee Department of Health (TDH) COVID-19 testing sites across the state, including the Health Department testing site here in Cumberland County (located at the Community Complex, 1398 Livingston Road), will begin offering self-testing kits to adults three days a week to allow staff members to transition to vaccination of frontline health care providers and first responders.
The new COVID-19 self-tests will be offered to adults on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays beginning December 21. On these days, public health staff members at each TDH COVID-19 testing site will provide self-testing kits to adults who wish to be tested. Individuals will remain in their vehicles while completing paperwork and collecting their samples. Health Departments will submit the samples for testing.
Adults tested with the new self-tests will register and receive their results online. The self-tests are not approved for use in children under age 18. Children and adults unable to register online can still receive the standard nasal swab COVID-19 tests on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Test results may be available within 72 hours of arrival at the lab, depending on the volume of tests the testing lab receives. Information will be provided to participants at testing locations on what they can expect after being tested. This information is also available online at www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/health/documents/cedep/novel-coronavirus/TestedGuidance.pdf.
TDH county health departments will be closed and will not offer COVID-19 testing December 24 – 25 and December 31, 2020 – January 1, 2021 in observance of the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.
Cumberland County Schools COVID-19 data as of Friday, December 18, 2020
- 45 positive active student cases
- 37 positive active staff cases
- 562 total students quarantined due to being determined to have had close contact with another individual who tested positive.
- 39 total staff members quarantined due to being determined to have had close contact with another individual who tested positive.
Cumberland County Schools will be closed for Winter Break December 21st-January 4th. All faculty, staff and students will report to school on Tuesday, January 5th. The next COVID-19 data will be reported on Friday, January 8, 2021.
COVID-19 Update (difference from previous day)
According to the Governor’s Office, most new cases are coming from small group gatherings like weddings, showers, family events, etc. To reduce the spread, everyone needs to follow the basic rules/guidelines.
- If you feel sick, get tested.
- STAY HOME after being tested until you get your result. If the result is positive you should begin isolation and wait for a call from the Tennessee Department of Health in order to receive additional instructions. There is a quarantine (for those exposed) and isolation (for those with COVID-19) calculator here: https://covid19.tn.gov/prevention/quarantine-isolation-calculator/. It is important the everyone follow those recommendations.
- Remember to wear a mask when appropriate
- Practice social distance
- Wash your hands frequently
- Follow the guidelines provided by Governor Lee and the CDC.
- Be smart and avoid places you feel are unsafe.
The following are the numbers from the Tennessee Department of Health (TDH) for Cumberland County as of 5:00 PM yesterday, 12/18/2020 (the state has permanently changed the time to 5:00 PM for the data release). The change from the prior day, not my prior newsletter, is in parenthesis.
633 active cases (+56)
2,997 inactive/recovered (+47)
47 deaths officially reported (+0)
3,677 positive cases (+103)
95 cumulative hospitalizations (+0)
38,151 negative tests (+673)
19.82% positivity rate – 7-day average
81.51% Inactive/Recovered
8.79% cumulative positivity rate (positive cases / positive cases + negative tests)
6.08% of residents have tested positive
1.05% of residents have active cases
These numbers are intended to be a brief summary of the information provided by the Tennessee Department of Health (TDH). More detailed information can be found at the online dashboard: https://www.tn.gov/health/cedep/ncov.html
Click here for the TDH Quarantine & Isolation Calculator:
https://covid19.tn.gov/prevention/quarantine-isolation-calculator/
A new dashboard has been released for each county. You can now view the Cumberland County COVID-19 dashboard here:
https://covid19.tn.gov/data/dashboards/?County=Cumberland
The dashboard seems to be the last data that is updated so it can lag for several hours behind the 2:00 PM daily data release.
School level COVID-19 data is now available online. Click this link to see the information available for Cumberland County:
https://districtinformation.tnedu.gov/covid-information/search/-1/180
Vaccine Update
I have received several questions about the state’s vaccine plan. They have now published a FAQ that can be found here:
https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/health/documents/cedep/novel-coronavirus/COVID-19_Vaccine_FAQ.pdf
One of the most frequent questions that the state hears from Tennesseans is when the general public can expect to be able to receive the vaccine. While the state does not have exact timeframes at this point, they have shared the anticipated phases of allocation. While these phases are subject to change, the graphic below (also found in the vaccination plan in the link below) illustrates what is anticipated for these phases at this time.
https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/health/documents/cedep/novel-coronavirus/COVID-19_Vaccination_Plan.pdf
Tennessee Commission on Aging and Disability Survey
Every five years, in an effort to assess the status of older adults across the state, the Tennessee Commission on Aging and Disability is required to complete the State Plan on Aging. You can help guide the 5-year Official Tennessee State Plan on Aging. Whether you’re an older adult, caregiver, or friend, this is your chance to share your experiences and ideas!
Click here to complete the State Plan on Aging Survey for Older Adults:
https://www.tn.gov/aging/state-plans-assesssment.html
Do you know someone who wants to complete the State Plan on Aging Survey but has limited internet access? Please call 615-741-1428 to complete survey over the phone.
This survey will be open from now – Dec 31, 2020. With COVID-19 this year’s needs assessment has a heavy online presence, however, the state has attempted to reach a broad audience by offering the phone number, sending a limited amount of survey’s via mail, and utilizing print media.
Thank you for being part of the solution and thank you for the opportunity to serve as your County Mayor. If you are interested in hearing my thoughts and views on news, events, and activities in Cumberland County, please subscribe to my newsletter, and follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Thank you,
Allen Foster
Cumberland County Mayor
http://allenfoster.net
allenfoster.com 