I had to look back to remember. I was surprised at just how long ago I’d first started my weekly listing of downtown events. The first list was called simply, The Week Ahead. It covered June 2 through 8 of 2013. Covering seven days, it included twenty events. As we started 2020, it would have been hard to imagine so few events during a single day in downtown Knoxville.
But nearly seven years after that first list, we’ve gone from 25 or 30 events a day to approximately none in a two week free fall. There were probably fewer than ten events during the next ten days that weren’t canceled. And I couldn’t in good conscience encourage you to go to those, given that we have been asked to remain in our homes. It’s likely to remain this way for quite a while.
As I’ve said, I’ve been following the CDC page for updates on confirmed cases in the U.S. Unfortunately that page only updates once a day at mid-day and only on weekdays. I was also curious as to how we stacked up internationally, so I searched for a page that would be both accurate and include information from around the world. I found one that is continually updated and seems to be accurate.
The site I found includes current cases, deaths, new cases, and new deaths (meaning the last 24 hours). It shows how many people have recovered, how many cases are still active, and how many persons per million in the given country. It yields a lot of interesting information. According to this site, as of late night on March 21st, there are 26,711 confirmed cases in the U.S. This represents an increase of 7,348 in less than the previous 24 hours. There have been 341 total deaths with 85 coming in less than the previous 24 hours.
The U.S. number is the third highest total in the world, and Spain is very close. In total deaths, we rank 6th in the world. At 81 cases per million population, we are lower than a number of countries, though the ranking is problematic given the small island countries with far fewer than a million in total population.
But even these bad numbers don’t tell the complete story and probably never will. We’re missing massive numbers of cases because tests still aren’t readily available. Additionally, the policy nationwide seems to have shifted to not giving the test even if a case is suspected if the treatment for that person would not be altered by a positive diagnosis.
On the State of Tennessee’s website, the numbers do not appear to be have been updated since Friday, but the number given is 228 cases, with three listed from Knox County. None are listed for Loudon County, for example, and one was widely reported from there on local news on Saturday. It’s an example of the under-reporting we are doing. A mother in Loudon County says that her son tested positive and said, “four of the five people in her home have run a fever the past few days and had a cough. They were told it was not necessary for them all to get tested because of a shortage in the number of tests available.” Which means there are more cases in Loudon County that are not being and will never be reported.
In other unfortunate news making the rounds this weekend, a comparison of the states of Kentucky and Tennessee shows that the two governors responded very differently and the results show it. A story on a Lexington television station website gets at the differences. The numbers differ from those above, but they are more recent and, I assume, accurate. Both states started the month with no confirmed cases. Tennessee, according to the article, now has 371 while Kentucky has 87.
On March 16, Governor Beshear of Kentucky closed all bars and prohibited dining-in at restaurants. That same day Tennessee’s Governor Lee did the same, but only for Nashville. Lee has yet to do the same for the state. On March 19, our governor said,
“We don’t have to mandate people not do certain behavior because Tennesseans follow suggestions. They follow guidance. So when we do that we’re going to see that Tennesseans come together . . . Lastly I want to encourage you to pray. I want you to pray for your citizens that are affected by economic downturns, by the sickness sweeping through the state,” Lee says. “I want you to know that you’re being prayed for as leaders in your community that you will have wisdom and discernment.”
The links to the websites I’m monitoring are:
City: Knoxville City Government
County: Knox County Health Department
State: Tennessee Department of Health
U.S.: Center for Disease Control/Coronavirus
International: Worldometers/caronavirus
Here’s another great resource, though information is changing constantly, so verify any of this before you make plans. Downtown Knoxville (the C.B.I.D.) has compiled a list of downtown restaurants and retail and their current hours and modes of operations. This includes if they deliver, have take out or online ordering. Please support them, if you can. You’ll find that information here.
A final note for today, you’ll notice that the ad for Scruffy City Hall has been changed to reflect their current effort to help their employees. The ad links to the page to purchase gift cards. All sales from gift cards will go to their employees who are currently out of work.