Weekly Update: Testing to Protect

Friends,

Earlier during today’s City Council budget hearing, Dr. Manoj Jain and I made a presentation to drastically increase our testing capacity. In order to control the virus, we must test to protect ourselves and our families against COVID-19.

To do this, we’re suggesting to scale up COVID-19 testing to roughly 30,000 people per day regardless of their symptoms. Large scale testing will allow the safer reopening of ours schools, businesses, and increased testing in underserved communities. We plan to use Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test kits that are now widely available. They’re less invasive, and they’re easy to use. Processing the tests costs less than $50 dollars.

The City has set aside $12M dollars in CARES Act relief funding to get us up to this scale of testing. Today, we asked for $1 million of that to start off to build the infrastructure to implement the plan, including a voluntary pilot program with City employees who would like to participate beginning in June.

If we’re successful, Memphis will create the blueprint to grow testing in other cities across the country, and once again, lead as a city that continues to change the world.

A closer look at the numbers: Below is a chart that takes a look at our data points over the last several weeks.

Counts per day	Tests Reported		Test Positivity Rate (%)	Confirmed Cases	Estimated COVID Hospitalized	Estimated COVID ICU Hospitalized	Deaths
4/2/2020	150		7.5	2
4/3/2020	1022		-29	66	83	28
4/4/2020	335		9.8	48	83	28
4/5/2020	401		14.4	35	99.2	33.1
4/6/2020	439		6.7	56	91.8	35
4/7/2020	559		11.4	52	99.4	38.4	3
4/8/2020	729		7.9	52	120.6	43.5	2
4/9/2020	1303		11.4	100	126.2	48	2
4/10/2020	555		8.5	98	122.4	48	1
4/11/2020	343		10.4	69	118	54	0
4/12/2020	849		12.5	53	104	48.4	0
4/13/2020	737		17.9	82	102	40.4	4
4/14/2020	653		13.5	81	101.6	40.4	1
4/15/2020	585		14.9	76	100.3	46.2	1
4/16/2020	1386		9.8	108	102.5	49.8	3
4/17/2020	354		8.5	115	100.7	49.8	2
4/18/2020	805		5.9	35	107.7	50.1	0
4/19/2020	983		9.3	41	114.4	40.8	1
4/20/2020	621		6.7	50	102.8	44.4	1
4/21/2020	499		7.9	37	91.3	40.5	2
4/22/2020	446		7.5	37	101.4	42.2	0
4/23/2020	894		5	50	101.9	45.1	2
4/24/2020	855		14	57	99.4	42.2	1
4/25/2020	1460		4.9	95	104.9	42.2	1
4/26/2020	1329		11.5	187	95.1	41.5	0
4/27/2020	449		4.6	38	105.7	41.2	1
4/28/2020	733		5.7	45	112.7	43.5	0
4/29/2020	1643		3.1	81	112.2	48.8	1
4/30/2020	1306		6.2	72	103.8	47.1	3
5/1/2020	1347		5.8	98	116.2	54.5	3
5/2/2020	1483		9.6	95	110.3	51	0
5/3/2020	1636		7.1	101	115.5	49.8	0
5/4/2020	641		4.7	72	113.4	45.7	4
5/5/2020	691		5.4	26	118.5	46.5	1
5/6/2020	1650		5	92	122.1	46	6
5/7/2020	1467		7	73	114.8	46.2	2
5/8/2020	616		3	27	121.9	51.3	1
5/9/2020	1435		3.5	90	112.1	51.9	0
5/10/2020	1843		3.8	85	103.8	48.2	0
5/11/2020	1667		5.3	106	117.9	51.6	5
5/12/2020	1212		6.4	41	123.7	52.9	4
5/13/2020	1326		4.9	61	141.6	52.5	2
5/14/2020	1686		5.4	46	120.6	53.6	4
5/15/2020	1634		3.3	72	126.5	42.7	2
5/16/2020	1775		6.4	78	123.8	48.6	0
5/17/2020	738		5.2	42	122.6	48.8	1
5/18/2020	2565		4.2	116	141.2	48.2	3
5/19/2020	1701		4.7	128	153.9	56.9	0
5/20/2020	1424		5.8	29	156.5	56.7	3
5/21/2020	1400		5.3	49	147.8	54.3	0
5/22/2020	1865		6.4	100	148.5	58.7	1
5/23/2020	1868		7.3	126	139.8	54.8	1
5/24/2020	1761		10.9	95	132.8	49.1	0
5/25/2020	2107		8.2	127	148	55.8	1
5/26/2020	821		8.7	50	153	56.3	8
5/27/2020	1419			122	141.1	58.6	3
5/28/2020	1019			90	140.2	58.6	3
Data Source: Shelby County Health Department.
Bureau of Epidemiology and Emergency Preparedness
*Estimated COVID Hospitalized are COVID positive and 20% of Persons of Interest (suspected positives) in hospital with pending results. *Estimated COVID ICU Hospitalized are COVID positive and 20% of Persons of Interest (suspected positives) in ICU with pending results. The COVID ICU hospitalized cases are a subset of All hospital cases”
* Test Positivity Rate (%) For Date of Collection

As you look at those numbers, you probably notice that our positive case numbers and hospitalizations have gone up slightly. Rest assured, this slight rise doesn’t come as a surprise. We expected it. Our medical experts expected it, and we are monitoring those data points and others every day.

But, there is a still a wild card out there.

Will we rise to the challenge? Will we continue to take this seriously, and keep doing the necessary work to slow the spread of this virus?

I have no doubt that we can, but it’s up to all of us to come together by continuing to wear facial coverings when we’re out in public, washing our hands thoroughly and using hand sanitizer, and getting tested and staying home if we’re sick.

If we care about each other and want to continue the progress we have seen so far in reopening our economy, it is imperative that we continue to do the things I just mentioned.

We must all do our part by staying apart.

Yours,