MEMPHIS, Tennessee —
Tuesday afternoon, Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland extended phase two of the city’s reopening plan through June 16th, following the highest daily spike in new COVID-19 cases in more than a month.
Earlier Tuesday, health experts said the uptick is concerning and urged the public to not let up in wearing masks and social distancing. Shelby County Health Officer Dr. Bruce Randolph said the rest of the county will likely follow suit in remaining in phase two for the time being.
"We are looking less likely at phase three,” Dr. Randolph said.
Health experts planned to decide whether to move to phase three Monday, June 8 but Mayor Strickland’s move came after Shelby County reported increases of at least 100 new COVID-19 cases eight of the last 14 days. Tuesday’s report of 190 new cases is the largest daily spike in Shelby County since April 24th.
"Our numbers are increasing and we are alarmed about that,” Dr. Randolph said.
Dr. Randolph urged the public to not let up in containing COVID-19 by staying apart and wearing masks in public.
He even floated a possible face covering mandate in Shelby County if new COVID-19 cases don’t level off or go down.
"We don't want to go back, we want to move forward and the determining factor of that is our behavior,” Dr. Randolph said.
Shelby County health experts reminded the public that COVID-19 testing continues to be underutilized at sites across the Memphis area. To date, more than 8% of Shelby County’s population has been tested.