SHELBY COUNTY, Tenn. — President Donald Trump said the COVID-19 death toll could reach 100,000 people in the United States.
While some of his advisors have previously predicted numbers this high, this is the first time the president has acknowledged the numbers. Currently, about 68,000 people have died.
In Shelby County, the death rate is lower than the national average, but experts warn we must be vigilant as businesses start to reopen again in the Mid-South.
The latest numbers from the State of Tennessee show 58 people in Shelby County have died from coronavirus complications.
While troubling, doctors WREG spoke with said that number is less than where it was initially thought the area would be at this time.
Recent reports from the Memphis-Shelby County COVID-19 Task Force show some models predicted there would be more than 120 deaths right now.
But behind every death is a face and a heartbroken family terrorized by the violent disease.
The family of well-known Memphis artist 68-year-old Dan Spector, who died from the virus last month, is now warning others to do what they can to protect themselves.
“He sounded horrible,” sister Rachel Spector Peak said. “The cough, nothing I’ve ever heard before.”
New data released Monday by the Shelby County Health Department highlights one area hit hard by the virus: nursing homes.
At least three facilities reported new deaths over the weekend. One location, the Highlands of Memphis Health and Rehabilitation Center, had 36 more residents and five staff members test positive. They have not reported any deaths.
WREG analyzed the numbers of all COVID-19 deaths, and 31% came from nursing homes. Fourteen nursing homes total are reporting cases.
“We have to keep that virus away from those who are going to have the highest death rate,” Baptist Health Care infectious disease specialist Dr. Steve Threlkeld said.
That’s particularly important as stores, restaurants and common gathering areas open back up.
Doctors are making it clear we cannot let our guard down just yet, as their could be another wave of the virus.
Memphis City Council member Dr. Jeff Warren is proposing a new mask ordinance to keep people safe, so we won’t have to go through another shut down like before. People would wear a mask in public and at work. The first reading is set for Tuesday.
