MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Shelby County health officials said Tuesday that there is a third confirmed case of coronavirus.
Dr. Alisa Haushalter said the person was from outside the United States, had been traveling and was ill, and sought treatment when they came to the county.
Haushalter said the testing for this patient was done in a private lab, and was processed in less than three days. The county received the report Tuesday and the health department is now tracing the person’s contacts.
The case is isolated from the county’s previous two cases. Shelby County’s first case was confirmed by health officials on March 8. The second case was related to the first.
Tennessee is now up to 73 cases total, she said, though that apparently did not include the new case released Tuesday.
Currently, evidence does not indicate that there is community transmission happening in Shelby County, Haushalter said.
Haushalter said 36 other people have been approved for coronavirus testing and are waiting on the results.
“We want to contain the spread of COVID in our community, and that means everyone needs to pitch in, and that means staying at home, avoiding contact with more than 10 people … ,” she said.
During Haushalter’s press briefing, Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland issued a declaration of emergency over the coronavirus outbreak, allowing Memphis to seek federal and state funding for response.
