1
00:00:00,234 --> 00:00:01,401
- (female announcer) 
  Production funding for

2
00:00:01,401 --> 00:00:02,936
Behind The Headlines

3
00:00:02,936 --> 00:00:04,838
is made possible in part by

4
00:00:04,838 --> 00:00:07,007
the WKNO Production Fund,

5
00:00:07,007 --> 00:00:09,176
the WWKNO Endowment Fund,

6
00:00:09,176 --> 00:00:10,944
and by viewers like you.

7
00:00:10,944 --> 00:00:12,212
Thank you.

8
00:00:12,212 --> 00:00:15,916
- How Memphis will reopen, 
tonight on Behind The Headlines.

9
00:00:16,850 --> 00:00:19,586
[intense music]

10
00:00:33,233 --> 00:00:35,035
I'm Eric Barnes with 
The Daily Memphian.

11
00:00:35,035 --> 00:00:36,336
Thanks for joining 
us as we continue

12
00:00:36,336 --> 00:00:38,739
to do Behind The 
Headlines remotely.

13
00:00:38,739 --> 00:00:41,174
I am joined tonight 
by Doug McGowen,

14
00:00:41,174 --> 00:00:43,310
Chief Operating Officer 
for the City of Memphis.

15
00:00:43,310 --> 00:00:45,779
Doug, thanks for joining 
us from City Hall.

16
00:00:45,779 --> 00:00:47,214
- Glad to be here, Eric.

17
00:00:47,214 --> 00:00:48,982
- Along with Bill Dries,

18
00:00:48,982 --> 00:00:51,218
reporter with 
The Daily Memphian.

19
00:00:51,218 --> 00:00:54,922
Doug, so let's 
start with we're in this

20
00:00:54,922 --> 00:00:57,991
phase of potential reopening,

21
00:00:57,991 --> 00:01:00,527
and the city and county 
and the suburbs have

22
00:01:00,527 --> 00:01:03,497
laid out a framework, the 
Back to Business framework.

23
00:01:03,497 --> 00:01:04,898
There's a website that has a

24
00:01:04,898 --> 00:01:06,500
tremendous amount 
of information,

25
00:01:06,500 --> 00:01:09,102
Backtobusiness.memphistn.gov

26
00:01:09,102 --> 00:01:12,606
Who though is in charge?

27
00:01:12,606 --> 00:01:14,074
I understand and 
we'll get into this idea

28
00:01:14,074 --> 00:01:15,475
that there's not a date,

29
00:01:15,475 --> 00:01:17,077
it's data, as the mayor said.

30
00:01:17,077 --> 00:01:19,746
And that it's a 
series of metrics that

31
00:01:19,746 --> 00:01:21,281
as we hit them, we can open more

32
00:01:21,281 --> 00:01:23,817
and if we miss them we 
have to kind of pull back.

33
00:01:23,817 --> 00:01:25,052
So we'll talk about 
that some more,

34
00:01:25,052 --> 00:01:27,120
but fundamentally, 
who's in charge

35
00:01:27,120 --> 00:01:29,323
of making that 
decision that we've

36
00:01:29,323 --> 00:01:31,892
hit the metrics you 
all have laid out?

37
00:01:31,892 --> 00:01:33,627
- Sure, well I think 
that it's important

38
00:01:33,627 --> 00:01:35,362
to say that we've had 
a great cooperation

39
00:01:35,362 --> 00:01:37,731
of this coalition of 
mayors from across

40
00:01:37,731 --> 00:01:39,933
Shelby County and 
actually, our region.

41
00:01:39,933 --> 00:01:42,436
Everybody has aligned 
and has the intention of

42
00:01:42,436 --> 00:01:44,037
moving forward at the same time

43
00:01:44,037 --> 00:01:46,273
with the same kinds of 
restrictions in place

44
00:01:46,273 --> 00:01:48,275
and the same kind of 
protocols in place.

45
00:01:48,275 --> 00:01:51,845
If you were to wind the 
clock all the way back

46
00:01:51,845 --> 00:01:54,448
to what the authorities are 
for each individual mayor,

47
00:01:54,448 --> 00:01:56,116
they all have an 
individual authority

48
00:01:56,116 --> 00:01:57,918
and could make their 
decisions on their own.

49
00:01:57,918 --> 00:02:00,187
The Health Officer could 
make his decision on his own,

50
00:02:00,187 --> 00:02:02,889
the governor has a certain 
level of authority, as well.

51
00:02:02,889 --> 00:02:05,058
But what we're trying 
to do here is to have

52
00:02:05,058 --> 00:02:06,660
everybody look at the same data

53
00:02:06,660 --> 00:02:08,495
and come to the same conclusion,

54
00:02:08,495 --> 00:02:11,632
and make their 
decisions together

55
00:02:11,632 --> 00:02:13,800
so that they use their 
collective authority

56
00:02:13,800 --> 00:02:17,204
for what we would say 
is a comprehensive

57
00:02:17,204 --> 00:02:19,006
approach to reopening 
Shelby County

58
00:02:19,006 --> 00:02:21,808
and the areas 
immediately around us.

59
00:02:23,276 --> 00:02:26,279
- Are you worried, though, 
that with so many people,

60
00:02:26,279 --> 00:02:29,549
elected officials with 
their own constituents,

61
00:02:29,549 --> 00:02:32,819
a tremendous amount 
of pressure from some

62
00:02:32,819 --> 00:02:35,422
people to stay closed, from 
other people to reopen,

63
00:02:35,422 --> 00:02:37,290
business owners 
particularly, and it's just a

64
00:02:37,290 --> 00:02:39,526
tremendous pressured situation.

65
00:02:39,526 --> 00:02:42,829
That that collective decision 
making will break down?

66
00:02:44,197 --> 00:02:46,566
- I think that's always a 
concern and it's always a risk,

67
00:02:46,566 --> 00:02:49,870
but I look at what 
people do rather than

68
00:02:49,870 --> 00:02:54,341
what could possibly happen and 
so far we have been aligned.

69
00:02:54,341 --> 00:02:57,044
We've been at this for 
almost six weeks now,

70
00:02:57,044 --> 00:03:00,113
and we have had a 
consistent cooperation

71
00:03:00,113 --> 00:03:03,250
across all of the 
municipalities in Shelby County,

72
00:03:03,250 --> 00:03:05,352
an even our 
surrounding counties in

73
00:03:05,352 --> 00:03:07,721
West Memphis, Arkansas, 
DeSoto County,

74
00:03:07,721 --> 00:03:10,023
Tipton County, Fayette County.

75
00:03:10,023 --> 00:03:11,425
We've had this 
collective effort,

76
00:03:11,425 --> 00:03:12,826
this coalition of the willing

77
00:03:12,826 --> 00:03:14,227
who are coming 
together to make sure

78
00:03:14,227 --> 00:03:15,996
we have the best 
possible outcome here

79
00:03:15,996 --> 00:03:18,198
in Memphis and 
Shelby County region.

80
00:03:19,299 --> 00:03:20,967
- Last thing before 
I go to Bill,

81
00:03:22,436 --> 00:03:25,205
again that sense of again 
looking at the metrics,

82
00:03:25,205 --> 00:03:26,506
and we'll walk through 
some of those metrics

83
00:03:26,506 --> 00:03:27,641
and try to dive into 
them a little more.

84
00:03:27,641 --> 00:03:29,076
But that the measurement,

85
00:03:29,076 --> 00:03:32,746
the determination that 
all the various metrics

86
00:03:32,746 --> 00:03:34,915
have been hit on any given day,

87
00:03:34,915 --> 00:03:37,317
is that the task 
force getting together

88
00:03:37,317 --> 00:03:39,653
and saying, taking a vote?

89
00:03:39,653 --> 00:03:42,355
Or is it that the numbers 
are so hard and fast

90
00:03:42,355 --> 00:03:44,591
that it's really, 
the numbers don't lie.

91
00:03:44,591 --> 00:03:46,159
- Oh, there's really no vote.

92
00:03:46,159 --> 00:03:49,029
What happens is everyday 
we meet as a joint task force,

93
00:03:49,029 --> 00:03:51,665
we've moved those meetings 
to three times a week now.

94
00:03:51,665 --> 00:03:53,333
But on that task force call are

95
00:03:53,333 --> 00:03:54,868
all the representatives 
that I've mentioned,

96
00:03:54,868 --> 00:03:55,836
in addition to the 
Health Department

97
00:03:55,836 --> 00:03:57,437
and so many other agencies.

98
00:03:57,437 --> 00:03:59,806
There's several hundred 
people on this call,

99
00:03:59,806 --> 00:04:01,241
including all the 
hospital systems,

100
00:04:01,241 --> 00:04:04,077
the social network providers,

101
00:04:04,077 --> 00:04:05,846
the Social Service 
network providers,

102
00:04:05,846 --> 00:04:08,482
and all of the elected officials

103
00:04:08,482 --> 00:04:09,916
as well as their staff members

104
00:04:09,916 --> 00:04:12,719
who are delivering the 
services each and every day.

105
00:04:12,719 --> 00:04:15,055
We understand that 
there is pressure,

106
00:04:15,055 --> 00:04:18,592
but that's just one factor 
that weighs into any decision.

107
00:04:18,592 --> 00:04:20,093
The data is the data,

108
00:04:20,093 --> 00:04:21,895
and so what we're really 
looking at is to have

109
00:04:21,895 --> 00:04:23,964
a flat or decreasing number of

110
00:04:23,964 --> 00:04:25,866
new cases each and every day,

111
00:04:25,866 --> 00:04:28,335
and we're also looking 
for a flat or decreasing

112
00:04:28,335 --> 00:04:31,037
number of COVID-related 
hospitalizations,

113
00:04:31,037 --> 00:04:33,640
particularly in our ICU.

114
00:04:33,640 --> 00:04:35,609
That is one data point 
that we will look at

115
00:04:35,609 --> 00:04:38,745
to determine whether we are 
ready to begin moving forward.

116
00:04:38,745 --> 00:04:40,180
But we also have to look at,

117
00:04:40,180 --> 00:04:42,516
as you've heard on the 
daily press briefings,

118
00:04:42,516 --> 00:04:43,817
we have to look at the capacity

119
00:04:43,817 --> 00:04:45,452
of our hospital 
system to be ready

120
00:04:45,452 --> 00:04:46,753
to absorb any kind of an uptick

121
00:04:46,753 --> 00:04:48,822
when we do decide to open up,

122
00:04:48,822 --> 00:04:51,024
and the capacity of our 
public health system

123
00:04:51,024 --> 00:04:52,592
to put enough testing in place

124
00:04:52,592 --> 00:04:55,495
and enough contact 
tracing investigation

125
00:04:55,495 --> 00:04:58,431
and surveillance 
capacity in place

126
00:04:58,431 --> 00:04:59,966
to make sure that 
we have our finger

127
00:04:59,966 --> 00:05:03,136
on the pulse and can tell very 
quickly if things move up.

128
00:05:03,136 --> 00:05:05,005
At the end of the day, 
this is a decision

129
00:05:05,005 --> 00:05:07,073
that the health officer and

130
00:05:07,073 --> 00:05:08,975
the elected officials 
have to make.

131
00:05:08,975 --> 00:05:13,380
There is no formula that 
says 1+1 equals open,

132
00:05:13,380 --> 00:05:16,683
you really have to 
take a look at the data

133
00:05:16,683 --> 00:05:21,488
and determine having 
balanced all of the factors

134
00:05:21,488 --> 00:05:22,856
that are associated with this,

135
00:05:22,856 --> 00:05:24,991
is it safe and 
proven for us to take

136
00:05:24,991 --> 00:05:27,494
the next step and 
move into phase one.

137
00:05:27,494 --> 00:05:29,229
There is no easy answer to that,

138
00:05:29,229 --> 00:05:31,264
there is no rote 
answer to that,

139
00:05:31,264 --> 00:05:33,433
it is an aggregation 
of the information

140
00:05:33,433 --> 00:05:36,736
that says we have mitigated 
the risks appropriately,

141
00:05:36,736 --> 00:05:37,971
and the next step is that

142
00:05:37,971 --> 00:05:41,241
we should take... 
move into phase one.

143
00:05:41,241 --> 00:05:43,877
- All right, let me 
go to Bill Dries.

144
00:05:43,877 --> 00:05:46,613
- Um, Chief, 
government and business

145
00:05:46,613 --> 00:05:49,649
and health do intersect,

146
00:05:49,649 --> 00:05:51,284
and they intersect quite often,

147
00:05:51,284 --> 00:05:53,119
but I'd venture to say that they

148
00:05:53,119 --> 00:05:57,324
don't often intersect 
in this particular way.

149
00:05:57,324 --> 00:06:01,928
How unique is this 
moment in the life

150
00:06:01,928 --> 00:06:05,131
of the city, in the affairs 
of the City of Memphis?

151
00:06:06,333 --> 00:06:08,068
- I think it's fair to 
say that it's a unique

152
00:06:08,068 --> 00:06:10,337
and globally, Bill, 
that we haven't had

153
00:06:10,337 --> 00:06:12,105
something of this 
scale and intensity

154
00:06:12,105 --> 00:06:14,874
for more than a 
hundred years, really,

155
00:06:14,874 --> 00:06:16,910
and so it is very unique 
for us and the city.

156
00:06:16,910 --> 00:06:19,713
I think for the 
unprecedented level

157
00:06:19,713 --> 00:06:23,149
of collaboration, cooperation, 
and information sharing

158
00:06:23,149 --> 00:06:25,919
that we're seeing is something 
that is quite unique.

159
00:06:25,919 --> 00:06:27,687
The openness and 
willingness of everybody

160
00:06:27,687 --> 00:06:30,824
to partner, to drop their 
various perspectives

161
00:06:30,824 --> 00:06:32,993
and come together 
as one unified team

162
00:06:32,993 --> 00:06:36,863
is relatively unique, 
but it's also inspiring.

163
00:06:36,863 --> 00:06:39,966
Memphis is a city, as 
I've said several times,

164
00:06:39,966 --> 00:06:43,670
and there's a book by 
Sir Peter Hall that says,

165
00:06:43,670 --> 00:06:46,273
"Memphis is a city where 
anything can be made to happen."

166
00:06:46,273 --> 00:06:49,009
and quite frankly, this 
is the epitome of that.

167
00:06:49,009 --> 00:06:51,044
I don't know of 
anyplace else that has

168
00:06:51,044 --> 00:06:53,413
a joint task force that 
is organized like ours,

169
00:06:53,413 --> 00:06:56,883
that has the number of agencies 
that are participating,

170
00:06:56,883 --> 00:06:59,286
and a unity of effort 
like is happening

171
00:06:59,286 --> 00:07:00,587
here in Memphis 
and Shelby County.

172
00:07:00,587 --> 00:07:02,522
It's something we 
can all be proud of.

173
00:07:02,522 --> 00:07:04,291
In this unique moment 
we came together

174
00:07:04,291 --> 00:07:06,359
in the right way so 
that we can provide

175
00:07:06,359 --> 00:07:08,995
the best possible outcomes 
for our citizenry.

176
00:07:10,196 --> 00:07:12,699
- The city got some 
good news this week,

177
00:07:12,699 --> 00:07:17,470
$113.6 million in CARES Act

178
00:07:17,470 --> 00:07:20,140
funding from the 
federal government,

179
00:07:21,574 --> 00:07:23,810
but there are rules about 
how this money can be used,

180
00:07:23,810 --> 00:07:26,446
as is usually the case with 
the federal government.

181
00:07:26,446 --> 00:07:31,217
This cannot be used 
to fix the holes,

182
00:07:31,217 --> 00:07:34,020
the revenue holes that 
are coming in the budget

183
00:07:34,020 --> 00:07:36,690
or the revenue hit that the city

184
00:07:36,690 --> 00:07:38,892
has taken in the 
current fiscal year.

185
00:07:38,892 --> 00:07:41,494
What's that money 
going to be used for?

186
00:07:41,494 --> 00:07:43,430
- Well that's an 
excellent question, Bill.

187
00:07:43,430 --> 00:07:47,067
City Council took 
action just on Tuesday,

188
00:07:47,067 --> 00:07:49,502
as you said we had a budget hole

189
00:07:49,502 --> 00:07:51,004
of about $100 million between

190
00:07:51,004 --> 00:07:52,772
this fiscal year and 
next fiscal year,

191
00:07:52,772 --> 00:07:53,973
that's what we have forecast.

192
00:07:53,973 --> 00:07:55,775
So we put out to 
the City Council

193
00:07:55,775 --> 00:07:57,711
that's a problem that 
we need to solve.

194
00:07:57,711 --> 00:07:59,479
We were hopeful that 
the federal CARES Act

195
00:07:59,479 --> 00:08:01,181
money could help 
us with some of that.

196
00:08:01,181 --> 00:08:03,183
The restrictions that 
are on that money mean

197
00:08:03,183 --> 00:08:04,517
it is going to be very limited

198
00:08:04,517 --> 00:08:07,587
for what we can use it 
for in our city budget.

199
00:08:07,587 --> 00:08:09,989
It's literally for those 
extraordinary expenses

200
00:08:09,989 --> 00:08:13,360
that are over and above what 
we had already budgeted for.

201
00:08:13,360 --> 00:08:15,362
But, there will be 
some of those revenues

202
00:08:15,362 --> 00:08:17,997
that we can use for those 
extraordinary actions

203
00:08:17,997 --> 00:08:19,699
that we took that 
we had not planned

204
00:08:19,699 --> 00:08:22,969
in our budget for this 
year that ends in July,

205
00:08:22,969 --> 00:08:24,604
and for next year, 
quite frankly.

206
00:08:24,604 --> 00:08:27,474
There is new work that 
we're going to be doing

207
00:08:27,474 --> 00:08:29,776
that our folks had not 
been doing previously

208
00:08:29,776 --> 00:08:32,679
and would be in place of the 
work that they were doing.

209
00:08:32,679 --> 00:08:34,381
So we're hopeful that we can use

210
00:08:34,381 --> 00:08:38,318
some of that money to help with

211
00:08:38,318 --> 00:08:40,587
our budgeting needs 
this year and next year,

212
00:08:40,587 --> 00:08:43,089
but it will not be a 
substantial portion

213
00:08:43,089 --> 00:08:44,991
of that $113 million.

214
00:08:46,159 --> 00:08:48,395
On Tuesday, City Council 
allocated $10 million,

215
00:08:48,395 --> 00:08:51,197
and rightly so, and 
we are very thankful

216
00:08:51,197 --> 00:08:53,800
for the cooperation 
between the City Council

217
00:08:53,800 --> 00:08:55,035
and the administration to do

218
00:08:55,035 --> 00:08:56,836
the right thing 
for our community,

219
00:08:56,836 --> 00:08:59,939
that will be a 
helpful inject of cash

220
00:08:59,939 --> 00:09:01,541
for our small businesses,

221
00:09:01,541 --> 00:09:05,545
which was predominantly 
the purpose of that money,

222
00:09:05,545 --> 00:09:07,981
as well as those social 
service provisions

223
00:09:07,981 --> 00:09:09,916
for additional food 
for our individuals

224
00:09:09,916 --> 00:09:12,752
in the community who need that,

225
00:09:12,752 --> 00:09:14,320
for additional testing capacity,

226
00:09:14,320 --> 00:09:16,990
for additional, we could use it

227
00:09:16,990 --> 00:09:18,358
for additional testing capacity,

228
00:09:18,358 --> 00:09:20,427
additional capacity for 
the health department.

229
00:09:20,427 --> 00:09:23,229
It's not just the city, 
the county also got

230
00:09:23,229 --> 00:09:25,799
an inject of some of 
those federal dollars,

231
00:09:25,799 --> 00:09:27,867
so together we 
are well-resourced

232
00:09:27,867 --> 00:09:29,936
to respond to the 
COVID pandemic,

233
00:09:29,936 --> 00:09:32,705
but it certainly does not 
solve our budgetary blows

234
00:09:32,705 --> 00:09:35,208
because it cannot be used 
for revenue replacement.

235
00:09:36,376 --> 00:09:39,579
- And the $10 million 
fund, as the Council

236
00:09:39,579 --> 00:09:42,315
was moving toward that 
in some general way,

237
00:09:42,315 --> 00:09:45,618
you were also 
looking at a program

238
00:09:45,618 --> 00:09:49,889
that Chattanooga 
has which is kind of

239
00:09:49,889 --> 00:09:53,093
the model for how the city's 
going to work on this.

240
00:09:53,093 --> 00:09:54,727
And as I understand 
it, it's a business

241
00:09:54,727 --> 00:09:57,397
stabilization program 
that in normal times

242
00:09:57,397 --> 00:10:00,967
has been used in 
Chattanooga for things like

243
00:10:00,967 --> 00:10:04,170
a street closure that 
affects a business

244
00:10:04,170 --> 00:10:05,905
or something like that.

245
00:10:05,905 --> 00:10:09,209
Is that kind of 
what the principal

246
00:10:09,209 --> 00:10:11,811
of this fund will 
be for Memphis?

247
00:10:11,811 --> 00:10:14,013
- We were asked, 
obviously, to look at that,

248
00:10:14,013 --> 00:10:16,916
we had been scanning 
for best practices

249
00:10:16,916 --> 00:10:19,786
or promising practices 
that once the requirements,

250
00:10:19,786 --> 00:10:21,688
or excuse me, the 
rules came out for how

251
00:10:21,688 --> 00:10:24,824
that money could be 
used from the CARES Act,

252
00:10:24,824 --> 00:10:28,194
and so that was one of the 
practices we landed on.

253
00:10:28,194 --> 00:10:30,730
Quite frankly, I also 
speak with the other

254
00:10:30,730 --> 00:10:33,633
big four COOs on at 
least a monthly basis,

255
00:10:33,633 --> 00:10:35,235
and during this pandemic 
we've been meeting

256
00:10:35,235 --> 00:10:38,605
each and every Wednesday 
afternoon to compare notes.

257
00:10:38,605 --> 00:10:40,173
One of the notes 
that we compared

258
00:10:40,173 --> 00:10:43,076
was "How are you going to 
use the CARES Act money?"

259
00:10:43,076 --> 00:10:46,346
and during that 
conversation Chattanooga

260
00:10:46,346 --> 00:10:47,480
had mentioned that they had this

261
00:10:47,480 --> 00:10:49,516
business stabilization program.

262
00:10:49,516 --> 00:10:51,584
When City Council 
started talking about

263
00:10:51,584 --> 00:10:54,020
adding money for that 
we quickly pivoted

264
00:10:54,020 --> 00:10:55,688
to try to get some details.

265
00:10:55,688 --> 00:10:58,491
I will tell you we're 
nowhere close to having

266
00:10:58,491 --> 00:10:59,993
the details or the application,

267
00:10:59,993 --> 00:11:01,728
but we will quickly get there.

268
00:11:01,728 --> 00:11:04,531
But it is a model and 
it showed some promise,

269
00:11:04,531 --> 00:11:07,467
and was affective in 
the Chattanooga context

270
00:11:07,467 --> 00:11:11,004
so like many cities do, 
borrowing and adapting

271
00:11:11,004 --> 00:11:12,672
to your own context is important

272
00:11:12,672 --> 00:11:14,908
and it's an easy way to get,

273
00:11:14,908 --> 00:11:17,443
rather that creating 
something out of whole cloth,

274
00:11:17,443 --> 00:11:19,412
we thought that would 
be a good approach.

275
00:11:19,412 --> 00:11:21,981
Can't say at the 
end that it will be

276
00:11:21,981 --> 00:11:23,950
an immediate parallel 
or an exact copy

277
00:11:23,950 --> 00:11:26,286
that we will adapt 
to our own context

278
00:11:26,286 --> 00:11:28,421
but it's a good 
starting point for us.

279
00:11:28,421 --> 00:11:31,157
- And before I send 
it back to Eric,

280
00:11:33,826 --> 00:11:36,229
there's been a lot of 
infrastructure that's gone up,

281
00:11:36,229 --> 00:11:40,967
there is, for lack of the 
better term on my part,

282
00:11:40,967 --> 00:11:43,336
an overflow medical 
facility that's now

283
00:11:43,336 --> 00:11:46,940
at 495 Union that was built

284
00:11:46,940 --> 00:11:48,675
in a tremendously short amount

285
00:11:48,675 --> 00:11:52,645
of time than other 
infrastructure.

286
00:11:54,113 --> 00:11:57,517
When this is over, or when 
the first wave is over,

287
00:11:57,517 --> 00:11:59,652
or we are significantly 
past this,

288
00:11:59,652 --> 00:12:01,654
do you think that some 
of the infrastructure

289
00:12:01,654 --> 00:12:05,258
from this pandemic 
remains and can be used

290
00:12:05,258 --> 00:12:08,695
for some longstanding 
problems that we have?

291
00:12:08,695 --> 00:12:11,497
- That's a great point, 
Bill, and it does point

292
00:12:11,497 --> 00:12:13,399
to the uniqueness of 
the Memphis situation,

293
00:12:13,399 --> 00:12:15,935
so let me talk about 
physical infrastructure.

294
00:12:15,935 --> 00:12:18,571
In addition to the 
alternative care facility,

295
00:12:18,571 --> 00:12:20,406
which is at the old 
Commercial Appeal building

296
00:12:20,406 --> 00:12:22,342
at 495 Union Avenue,

297
00:12:24,444 --> 00:12:26,312
there is also some 
systems infrastructure

298
00:12:26,312 --> 00:12:27,981
that was put into place.

299
00:12:27,981 --> 00:12:30,783
So for instance, we have 
an EMS surge facility

300
00:12:30,783 --> 00:12:32,619
over at the fairgrounds, 
which is unique

301
00:12:32,619 --> 00:12:34,787
and a first of its kind 
in the country, as well.

302
00:12:34,787 --> 00:12:37,290
So that's a systems 
infrastructure that we'll

303
00:12:37,290 --> 00:12:38,658
be able to put back into place

304
00:12:38,658 --> 00:12:40,326
should we ever need that.

305
00:12:40,326 --> 00:12:42,662
So we'll put that 
in our tool kit

306
00:12:42,662 --> 00:12:45,031
and we'll carry that 
with us forward.

307
00:12:45,031 --> 00:12:47,900
For the actual overflow or 
the alternate care facility,

308
00:12:47,900 --> 00:12:50,370
that is unique 
across the country.

309
00:12:50,370 --> 00:12:52,071
Many of the other facilities,

310
00:12:52,071 --> 00:12:53,573
there have been 17 others built,

311
00:12:53,573 --> 00:12:56,075
there will be 26 
total that are built,

312
00:12:56,075 --> 00:12:57,377
and ours is one of them.

313
00:12:57,377 --> 00:12:59,212
Many of them are in arenas,

314
00:12:59,212 --> 00:13:01,848
and once this pandemic 
is over they will have

315
00:13:01,848 --> 00:13:03,516
to be disassembled and moved out

316
00:13:03,516 --> 00:13:05,284
because those are 
revenue generating

317
00:13:05,284 --> 00:13:07,186
facilities for those cities.

318
00:13:07,186 --> 00:13:10,189
Here in the city of 
Memphis, at that facility,

319
00:13:10,189 --> 00:13:13,192
there is a long term 
lease, an 18-month lease,

320
00:13:13,192 --> 00:13:16,195
and so it will remain as 
an alternate care facility

321
00:13:16,195 --> 00:13:17,964
during the period 
of that 18 months.

322
00:13:17,964 --> 00:13:20,800
Should we see a second 
wave of this pandemic,

323
00:13:20,800 --> 00:13:23,336
should we need to respond 
in some other way,

324
00:13:23,336 --> 00:13:25,405
we will have that 
facility with us

325
00:13:25,405 --> 00:13:26,806
for at least 18 months.

326
00:13:26,806 --> 00:13:29,008
During that 18 
months, we can decide

327
00:13:29,008 --> 00:13:31,177
what we would like to 
do with that long term.

328
00:13:31,177 --> 00:13:34,514
The terms of exactly how 
that lease will be terminated

329
00:13:34,514 --> 00:13:37,083
and who will pick it up 
have not yet been decided

330
00:13:37,083 --> 00:13:38,751
but it does represent 
a significant

331
00:13:38,751 --> 00:13:40,053
opportunity for us here.

332
00:13:40,053 --> 00:13:41,621
There are approximately,

333
00:13:41,621 --> 00:13:43,056
yesterday at 10 o'clock 
in the morning

334
00:13:43,056 --> 00:13:44,824
they were 45% complete,

335
00:13:44,824 --> 00:13:46,926
they had just started 
to two weeks ago.

336
00:13:46,926 --> 00:13:48,494
Today, I anticipate 
they are approximately

337
00:13:48,494 --> 00:13:50,530
fifty percent complete 
and will come online

338
00:13:50,530 --> 00:13:52,131
in the middle of 
May and it will be

339
00:13:52,131 --> 00:13:55,134
an incredible facility, 
an incredible asset,

340
00:13:55,134 --> 00:13:58,271
located just adjacent 
to the medical center

341
00:13:58,271 --> 00:14:00,840
and so I anticipate that 
there will be a great use

342
00:14:00,840 --> 00:14:03,209
of that facility, 
irrespective of whether

343
00:14:03,209 --> 00:14:06,079
we put one patient in there 
from this COVID pandemic.

344
00:14:07,046 --> 00:14:08,848
- Alright, and over to Eric.

345
00:14:10,783 --> 00:14:13,019
- When we go to, I'm looking at,

346
00:14:13,019 --> 00:14:16,055
Bill mentioned the 
business, you know,

347
00:14:16,055 --> 00:14:18,758
using part of that 
$10 million for businesses

348
00:14:18,758 --> 00:14:22,929
and it gets me back to the 
Back to Business website.

349
00:14:22,929 --> 00:14:26,065
If people Google or search 
"Back to Business Memphis"

350
00:14:26,065 --> 00:14:28,101
it should be one of the 
first things that comes up.

351
00:14:28,101 --> 00:14:30,603
When I look at that, 
it's back to the sense of,

352
00:14:30,603 --> 00:14:32,739
you know you talked 
about testing,

353
00:14:32,739 --> 00:14:35,775
and stabilization, and 
capacity being good.

354
00:14:35,775 --> 00:14:39,011
How do we know as citizens 
or as business owners

355
00:14:39,011 --> 00:14:42,582
or interested people 
what we individually

356
00:14:42,582 --> 00:14:44,317
or collectively 
can do to continue

357
00:14:44,317 --> 00:14:46,919
to push these numbers 
because when I look

358
00:14:46,919 --> 00:14:49,088
at it, and you're going 
to be annoyed with me,

359
00:14:49,088 --> 00:14:50,356
but bear with me.

360
00:14:50,356 --> 00:14:52,091
You know, I look at 
it and everything on

361
00:14:52,091 --> 00:14:54,660
as we tape this 
Thursday morning,

362
00:14:54,660 --> 00:14:56,129
everything's green 
and yellow, right?

363
00:14:56,129 --> 00:14:58,831
All the indicators about 
you know, daily number

364
00:14:58,831 --> 00:15:01,067
of confirmed cases, 
ICU bed utilization,

365
00:15:01,067 --> 00:15:02,568
all of it's green and yellow.

366
00:15:02,568 --> 00:15:04,704
Which when you read the 
very helpful narrative

367
00:15:04,704 --> 00:15:06,272
that goes with it, 
it says when we're all

368
00:15:06,272 --> 00:15:08,040
green and yellow we can 
go into the next phase,

369
00:15:08,040 --> 00:15:09,709
which in this case is 
we're in phase zero,

370
00:15:09,709 --> 00:15:10,977
we can go into phase one.

371
00:15:12,678 --> 00:15:14,680
But we're not yet, 
because as you said,

372
00:15:14,680 --> 00:15:17,350
the task force meets, it talks, 
it makes those decisions.

373
00:15:17,350 --> 00:15:19,552
So how do we know as 
citizens and as businesses

374
00:15:19,552 --> 00:15:21,888
if we're doing 
enough to help keep

375
00:15:21,888 --> 00:15:23,189
these numbers where 
they need to be?

376
00:15:23,189 --> 00:15:24,957
I think that's, you 
know what I'm saying?

377
00:15:24,957 --> 00:15:27,493
That part still has 
a big gap for me.

378
00:15:27,493 --> 00:15:30,563
- Sure. I think it's a 
great point we have done.

379
00:15:30,563 --> 00:15:36,769
I think Yeoman's job of 
communicating clear information

380
00:15:36,769 --> 00:15:39,806
when, quite frankly, 
the way has not been clear,

381
00:15:39,806 --> 00:15:42,375
there's a lot of 
information coming at people

382
00:15:42,375 --> 00:15:44,210
from a lot of different venues,

383
00:15:44,210 --> 00:15:46,045
and so distilling it 
down in a way that people

384
00:15:46,045 --> 00:15:47,380
can understand, I 
think our team has done

385
00:15:47,380 --> 00:15:49,615
a fantastic job of that.

386
00:15:49,615 --> 00:15:51,851
There is always room to 
improve in that messaging

387
00:15:51,851 --> 00:15:55,588
so that people understand 
kind of where we are on that.

388
00:15:55,588 --> 00:15:58,391
So we are trying to put 
together right now a dashboard

389
00:15:58,391 --> 00:16:00,726
that will give everybody 
that single look

390
00:16:00,726 --> 00:16:03,162
and will say "I can 
do my own analysis

391
00:16:03,162 --> 00:16:06,032
of the metrics and I can 
see kind of where we stand."

392
00:16:06,032 --> 00:16:08,434
So that has been work 
that has been going on,

393
00:16:08,434 --> 00:16:10,536
getting that in the right format

394
00:16:10,536 --> 00:16:11,971
that we can get 
out to everybody,

395
00:16:11,971 --> 00:16:14,974
I anticipate that will happen 
in the next week or so.

396
00:16:14,974 --> 00:16:16,976
But again, it has 
been a lot of work,

397
00:16:16,976 --> 00:16:18,845
a lot of data analysis, 
a lot of behind

398
00:16:18,845 --> 00:16:20,746
the scenes, and getting 
that translated over

399
00:16:20,746 --> 00:16:23,216
into a way that 
clearly communicates

400
00:16:23,216 --> 00:16:26,853
where we are to the public, 
I think is something

401
00:16:26,853 --> 00:16:28,921
that will come to 
fruition very soon.

402
00:16:28,921 --> 00:16:30,423
I will say the daily 
press briefings

403
00:16:30,423 --> 00:16:33,960
that we have been giving and 
we went to three times a week,

404
00:16:33,960 --> 00:16:35,494
and now we're back to every day.

405
00:16:35,494 --> 00:16:37,096
We have increased 
that specifically

406
00:16:37,096 --> 00:16:38,998
so that people 
understand where we are.

407
00:16:38,998 --> 00:16:41,133
You've heard Dr. Haushalter, 
you've heard myself,

408
00:16:41,133 --> 00:16:43,369
you've heard the 
mayors consistently say

409
00:16:43,369 --> 00:16:46,239
that here's where we are, 
we have reached a plateau,

410
00:16:46,239 --> 00:16:48,140
we have been on a 
slightly downward trend.

411
00:16:48,140 --> 00:16:51,844
Those kinds of things that 
you all know where we are.

412
00:16:51,844 --> 00:16:54,914
I would like to just 
emphasize that 30 days ago,

413
00:16:54,914 --> 00:16:58,117
or 45 days ago, 
we thought we might be

414
00:16:58,117 --> 00:16:59,986
in a very, very different place.

415
00:16:59,986 --> 00:17:02,121
So we are very 
fortunate and blessed

416
00:17:02,121 --> 00:17:04,357
as a community that 
we have all taken

417
00:17:04,357 --> 00:17:06,492
this collective 
action so that we can

418
00:17:06,492 --> 00:17:08,461
be in this place 
where we are really

419
00:17:08,461 --> 00:17:09,896
on this tipping 
point of deciding

420
00:17:09,896 --> 00:17:13,099
whether to move into 
phase one or not.

421
00:17:13,099 --> 00:17:15,501
It could have gone 
the other way,

422
00:17:15,501 --> 00:17:17,136
like it did in some 
other communities

423
00:17:17,136 --> 00:17:19,739
where we had this 
dramatic uptick.

424
00:17:19,739 --> 00:17:23,743
The evidence is what 
the citizens are doing,

425
00:17:23,743 --> 00:17:25,278
the compliance with 
social distancing,

426
00:17:25,278 --> 00:17:27,246
the compliance with 
all of the orders

427
00:17:27,246 --> 00:17:29,282
is working to blunt this,

428
00:17:29,282 --> 00:17:32,118
delay any kind of a 
surge that could come,

429
00:17:32,118 --> 00:17:34,253
so we are at a really good point

430
00:17:34,253 --> 00:17:36,989
and as you heard yesterday, 
we're within days

431
00:17:36,989 --> 00:17:40,226
of being able to 
make a determination

432
00:17:40,226 --> 00:17:42,028
about whether we should move.

433
00:17:42,028 --> 00:17:43,996
- Do you, I mean 
this is speculative,

434
00:17:43,996 --> 00:17:46,265
but once we go into phase one,

435
00:17:46,265 --> 00:17:48,935
and as you just said, 
could be days away,

436
00:17:48,935 --> 00:17:51,370
and businesses do 
reopen and people

437
00:17:51,370 --> 00:17:54,173
get back into some sense 
of normalcy, right?

438
00:17:54,173 --> 00:17:55,408
It's not every business opening,

439
00:17:55,408 --> 00:17:56,442
there's still a 
lot of distancing,

440
00:17:56,442 --> 00:17:57,743
there'll still be mask wearing,

441
00:17:57,743 --> 00:18:00,279
lot of changes 
in phase one.

442
00:18:00,279 --> 00:18:03,282
But the will on the part of all

443
00:18:03,282 --> 00:18:04,784
these various 
government entities.

444
00:18:04,784 --> 00:18:08,054
If there is a spike, if there 
is an increase in cases,

445
00:18:08,054 --> 00:18:10,456
to shut down, to take 
a step backwards.

446
00:18:10,456 --> 00:18:12,158
That's going to be a 
difficult decision,

447
00:18:12,158 --> 00:18:15,962
because people will...a 
certain number of people

448
00:18:15,962 --> 00:18:17,296
are bursting at the 
seams to get out,

449
00:18:17,296 --> 00:18:19,031
to get back to some 
sense of normalcy.

450
00:18:19,031 --> 00:18:22,234
Businesses want to operate, 
they are in desperate straits.

451
00:18:22,234 --> 00:18:25,071
If we go a couple 
weeks, how do you close

452
00:18:25,071 --> 00:18:27,006
them back down if 
it comes to that?

453
00:18:28,174 --> 00:18:30,676
- I think we have said 
from the beginning,

454
00:18:30,676 --> 00:18:33,346
the thought was is 
would be very hard

455
00:18:33,346 --> 00:18:35,047
to close things down and to,

456
00:18:35,047 --> 00:18:38,184
you know, restrict kind 
of the operations.

457
00:18:38,184 --> 00:18:41,187
Quite frankly, it's 
turned out to be harder

458
00:18:41,187 --> 00:18:42,622
the other way as 
to determine what's

459
00:18:42,622 --> 00:18:44,724
the right time to open up.

460
00:18:44,724 --> 00:18:47,193
The data is pretty clear, 
when you see an uptick

461
00:18:47,193 --> 00:18:49,061
that you need to take action.

462
00:18:49,061 --> 00:18:51,263
That's why we're monitoring 
the hospital capacity,

463
00:18:51,263 --> 00:18:54,967
monitoring the capacity of 
our public health system,

464
00:18:54,967 --> 00:18:57,837
so that we can be sure that we

465
00:18:57,837 --> 00:18:59,305
will have all of 
the information,

466
00:18:59,305 --> 00:19:01,374
that we won't have 
a spike in new cases

467
00:19:01,374 --> 00:19:04,477
or a new outbreak that 
we don't know about.

468
00:19:04,477 --> 00:19:06,112
That's what 
critically important.

469
00:19:06,112 --> 00:19:09,048
I have heard collectively 
across the task force,

470
00:19:09,048 --> 00:19:11,317
a will on the part of 
the elected officials

471
00:19:11,317 --> 00:19:13,185
and the health officer, 
that should we see

472
00:19:13,185 --> 00:19:16,522
a dramatic uptick that 
we will immediately

473
00:19:16,522 --> 00:19:20,092
put back into place the 
protocols that we had before.

474
00:19:20,092 --> 00:19:23,129
I think that the will is 
there and that will continue.

475
00:19:23,129 --> 00:19:24,063
- All right, let me go back

476
00:19:24,063 --> 00:19:25,664
to Bill for a couple questions.

477
00:19:25,664 --> 00:19:30,669
- You've also had a pretty 
unique response here

478
00:19:31,804 --> 00:19:34,306
to dealing with people 
who are homeless,

479
00:19:34,306 --> 00:19:37,176
who either have come 
into contact with someone

480
00:19:37,176 --> 00:19:41,914
who has the virus, or who 
have the virus themselves.

481
00:19:41,914 --> 00:19:46,218
Is any of that solution, 
is any of that response

482
00:19:46,218 --> 00:19:50,222
pointed a way toward 
a better strategy

483
00:19:51,190 --> 00:19:54,160
after this pandemic for people

484
00:19:54,160 --> 00:19:56,529
who are homeless in our city?

485
00:19:56,529 --> 00:19:58,597
- Well, let me go more 
global than that, Bill.

486
00:19:58,597 --> 00:20:00,599
I think coming out of this,

487
00:20:00,599 --> 00:20:02,435
people are learning 
lessons that will stick

488
00:20:02,435 --> 00:20:04,637
with us for decades to come.

489
00:20:04,637 --> 00:20:07,973
The delivery of... 
the systems of delivery

490
00:20:07,973 --> 00:20:11,077
of services are forever 
changed in many ways.

491
00:20:11,077 --> 00:20:13,512
You've seen some 
inspiring stories about

492
00:20:13,512 --> 00:20:16,148
how people have pivoted 
their service delivery.

493
00:20:16,148 --> 00:20:17,950
I know in the city of Memphis,

494
00:20:17,950 --> 00:20:21,454
our emergency medical 
service has changed

495
00:20:21,454 --> 00:20:23,989
and we have advanced 
that radar concept

496
00:20:23,989 --> 00:20:27,893
to try to keep the emergency 
rooms from being overflowing,

497
00:20:27,893 --> 00:20:29,628
we're sending doctors 
and paramedics

498
00:20:29,628 --> 00:20:31,931
on low acuity 
calls to get people

499
00:20:31,931 --> 00:20:32,965
to the care that 
they need rather than

500
00:20:32,965 --> 00:20:34,900
going to the emergency room.

501
00:20:34,900 --> 00:20:37,336
We think that's a practice 
that we'll continue.

502
00:20:37,336 --> 00:20:40,339
We talked about our 
EMS surge facility,

503
00:20:41,640 --> 00:20:43,909
again to keep ED's 
from being overflowed.

504
00:20:43,909 --> 00:20:46,779
Our Memphis Animal 
Services has really made

505
00:20:46,779 --> 00:20:48,948
a gigantic pivot, they have made

506
00:20:48,948 --> 00:20:50,649
such great strides over time,

507
00:20:50,649 --> 00:20:52,985
but now we're in the provision

508
00:20:52,985 --> 00:20:55,221
of service preemptively 
to make sure

509
00:20:55,221 --> 00:20:56,622
we have a pet food pantry

510
00:20:56,622 --> 00:20:58,557
so that people don't 
get a desperate need.

511
00:20:58,557 --> 00:21:00,526
So we're answering 
people's needs

512
00:21:00,526 --> 00:21:04,964
before a safety 
net has to kick in,

513
00:21:04,964 --> 00:21:06,732
and the same thing 
here with homelessness.

514
00:21:06,732 --> 00:21:08,634
It's really sharpened our focus

515
00:21:08,634 --> 00:21:10,870
on the service delivery 
needs for our homelessness,

516
00:21:10,870 --> 00:21:14,573
for the homeless 
population that we have.

517
00:21:14,573 --> 00:21:16,976
The good news is 
we had many things

518
00:21:16,976 --> 00:21:18,878
in motion before 
this pandemic hit,

519
00:21:18,878 --> 00:21:20,412
as you know, we 
have talked about

520
00:21:20,412 --> 00:21:23,682
and we're actively building 
out a homeless aid facility,

521
00:21:23,682 --> 00:21:25,484
some expanded capacity for

522
00:21:25,484 --> 00:21:28,287
a women's shelter in 
the city of Memphis,

523
00:21:28,287 --> 00:21:30,156
so those needs 
have been amplified

524
00:21:30,156 --> 00:21:33,425
and our responses...our 
focus has been sharpened

525
00:21:33,425 --> 00:21:35,327
on that service delivery 
for those populations

526
00:21:35,327 --> 00:21:37,096
to make sure that 
we can reach them

527
00:21:37,096 --> 00:21:39,431
when and where we need to.

528
00:21:39,431 --> 00:21:42,001
But there are many examples,

529
00:21:42,001 --> 00:21:46,372
we were talking just recently 
about this remote work model,

530
00:21:46,372 --> 00:21:48,774
and there was a worry about 
the lack of productivity,

531
00:21:48,774 --> 00:21:50,543
but we're actually 
seeing in some cases,

532
00:21:50,543 --> 00:21:52,845
an increased level 
of productivity.

533
00:21:52,845 --> 00:21:55,347
So I think it's really going 
to change a lot of things,

534
00:21:55,347 --> 00:21:57,650
and it's not just the 
immediate responses

535
00:21:57,650 --> 00:21:59,251
that you're seeing, I 
think we're going to see,

536
00:21:59,251 --> 00:22:01,520
fundamentally, a shift 
in a number of ways

537
00:22:01,520 --> 00:22:04,089
of how we deliver 
services more effectively

538
00:22:04,089 --> 00:22:07,393
to those citizens who 
need those services.

539
00:22:07,393 --> 00:22:10,563
- What is the discussion 
been like since we are a city

540
00:22:10,563 --> 00:22:13,999
with a National Basketball 
Association franchise

541
00:22:13,999 --> 00:22:18,237
and a city with a very unique 
month-long civic festival.

542
00:22:18,237 --> 00:22:21,340
What has the discussion 
been like so far

543
00:22:21,340 --> 00:22:26,345
about how to resume those 
large-scale crowd events?

544
00:22:27,246 --> 00:22:30,482
- Robust, we certainly know that

545
00:22:30,482 --> 00:22:34,220
that is a very 
special circumstance,

546
00:22:34,220 --> 00:22:36,355
as we talk about getting 
back to business,

547
00:22:36,355 --> 00:22:38,023
that is part of our economy.

548
00:22:38,023 --> 00:22:41,093
Those are...though they 
are very large parts

549
00:22:41,093 --> 00:22:44,263
of our community, 
they are specialty

550
00:22:44,263 --> 00:22:46,565
kinds of businesses and events

551
00:22:46,565 --> 00:22:50,302
and so it requires a 
detailed level of discussion,

552
00:22:50,302 --> 00:22:52,271
requires a detailed 
level of controls

553
00:22:52,271 --> 00:22:53,772
to be put into place.

554
00:22:53,772 --> 00:22:55,674
It's just, quite frankly, 
very hard to assemble

555
00:22:55,674 --> 00:22:58,277
large groups of people 
when you still have

556
00:22:58,277 --> 00:23:00,846
a significant number of 
cases in your community.

557
00:23:00,846 --> 00:23:05,651
So it requires special 
detail for those areas

558
00:23:05,651 --> 00:23:07,219
where large... 
where people gather.

559
00:23:07,219 --> 00:23:10,689
So it is an ongoing 
conversation,

560
00:23:10,689 --> 00:23:13,525
we are engaged with 
all of the parties

561
00:23:13,525 --> 00:23:15,728
that you might imagine 
in the city who

562
00:23:15,728 --> 00:23:18,330
put on those festivals 
of those sporting events,

563
00:23:18,330 --> 00:23:20,232
and it's an important 
part for people

564
00:23:20,232 --> 00:23:23,535
to know as they plan, 
what can be done

565
00:23:23,535 --> 00:23:26,005
so that they can 
plan either the rest

566
00:23:26,005 --> 00:23:27,673
of their season or the festival,

567
00:23:27,673 --> 00:23:30,843
or are we having to move 
into the following year.

568
00:23:30,843 --> 00:23:32,811
So it's an important 
discussion for us.

569
00:23:34,546 --> 00:23:36,682
- And I'll throw it to Eric.

570
00:23:36,682 --> 00:23:39,385
- And just with a couple 
minutes left, Doug.

571
00:23:39,385 --> 00:23:42,554
Testing, we've had a... 
on Behind The Headlines

572
00:23:42,554 --> 00:23:45,958
and on the podcasts and the 
stories we do on Daily Memphian.

573
00:23:47,126 --> 00:23:48,360
Talking to a lots 
of different people,

574
00:23:48,360 --> 00:23:50,229
Christ Community, 
and Church Health,

575
00:23:50,229 --> 00:23:52,831
from various representatives 
of the hospitals,

576
00:23:52,831 --> 00:23:55,834
and by and large, testing 
capacity right now,

577
00:23:55,834 --> 00:23:58,170
we're not hitting it, right?

578
00:23:58,170 --> 00:24:00,606
I mean we have more 
capacity than we're utilizing.

579
00:24:00,606 --> 00:24:03,876
Is it time for the city to begin

580
00:24:03,876 --> 00:24:07,012
to test more people 
with no symptoms?

581
00:24:07,012 --> 00:24:08,213
Right now, by and large,

582
00:24:08,213 --> 00:24:10,049
I think Church Health 
is an exception,

583
00:24:10,049 --> 00:24:12,318
but by and large most 
places doing testing,

584
00:24:12,318 --> 00:24:14,720
you either have to 
have some sort of,

585
00:24:14,720 --> 00:24:18,691
some kind of symptoms 
before you'd be tested.

586
00:24:18,691 --> 00:24:20,726
Is it time to broaden that net?

587
00:24:20,726 --> 00:24:23,028
- Sure. I think it's 
a great question,

588
00:24:23,028 --> 00:24:25,331
certainly there are 
symptomatic people

589
00:24:25,331 --> 00:24:27,099
who are not taking 
advantage of the testing

590
00:24:27,099 --> 00:24:29,201
for a number of reasons 
or maybe distrust,

591
00:24:29,201 --> 00:24:31,003
people don't want to 
be seen as positive

592
00:24:31,003 --> 00:24:32,838
and then they can't 
go back to work.

593
00:24:32,838 --> 00:24:34,707
There's a lot of 
reasons why they

594
00:24:34,707 --> 00:24:36,842
are not taking advantage of it.

595
00:24:36,842 --> 00:24:39,845
There may be just a 
simple lack of knowledge,

596
00:24:39,845 --> 00:24:42,047
and so we've tried to 
communicate that broadly.

597
00:24:42,047 --> 00:24:44,216
Our testing capacity 
has increased

598
00:24:44,216 --> 00:24:46,085
dramatically in the 
last several weeks,

599
00:24:46,085 --> 00:24:48,220
and so we do have 
adequate capacity

600
00:24:48,220 --> 00:24:50,723
to test those individuals 
who would desire

601
00:24:50,723 --> 00:24:52,658
to be tested who 
are symptomatic.

602
00:24:52,658 --> 00:24:55,527
But as you said, Eric, 
there is a good reason

603
00:24:55,527 --> 00:24:57,296
to test asymptomatic people.

604
00:24:57,296 --> 00:24:58,797
We're starting off 
with those people

605
00:24:58,797 --> 00:25:00,833
who are most at risk, the 
people who are working,

606
00:25:00,833 --> 00:25:02,835
or are actually employees of

607
00:25:02,835 --> 00:25:04,970
the hospitals and 
the nursing homes.

608
00:25:04,970 --> 00:25:07,072
Our hospital systems 
have been testing

609
00:25:07,072 --> 00:25:09,375
their frontline workers, 
asymptomatically.

610
00:25:09,375 --> 00:25:12,010
They haven't gone 
through everybody yet,

611
00:25:12,010 --> 00:25:14,046
but they are doing that 
in a proactive manner

612
00:25:14,046 --> 00:25:16,048
to make sure that the 
healthcare workers

613
00:25:17,349 --> 00:25:19,618
don't have the disease 
that they could pass on.

614
00:25:19,618 --> 00:25:21,587
I know several of our 
large hospital systems

615
00:25:21,587 --> 00:25:24,623
are a long way through testing 
their frontline workers.

616
00:25:24,623 --> 00:25:27,726
Our nursing home population 
and the employees

617
00:25:27,726 --> 00:25:29,928
of the nursing homes, 
we are pushing them

618
00:25:29,928 --> 00:25:32,331
to get tested asymptomatically.

619
00:25:32,331 --> 00:25:34,967
And many of the providers 
that are coming online,

620
00:25:34,967 --> 00:25:38,137
the Walgreen's providers, 
there is a rubric

621
00:25:38,137 --> 00:25:40,005
that they are using that says

622
00:25:40,005 --> 00:25:43,275
if you are symptomatic, 
please come and get tested.

623
00:25:43,275 --> 00:25:44,777
And then all the way down,

624
00:25:44,777 --> 00:25:46,912
if you are asymptomatic 
and a first responder,

625
00:25:46,912 --> 00:25:49,415
police, fire, or 
healthcare worker,

626
00:25:49,415 --> 00:25:51,450
they will do 
asymptomatic testing.

627
00:25:51,450 --> 00:25:53,419
So before we go to 
more broad ranging

628
00:25:53,419 --> 00:25:54,953
asymptomatic testing, 
we want to make sure

629
00:25:54,953 --> 00:25:57,022
that we are fully 
meeting the needs

630
00:25:57,022 --> 00:25:58,323
of folks in the community who

631
00:25:58,323 --> 00:26:01,527
are symptomatic and 
those first responders.

632
00:26:01,527 --> 00:26:03,095
- The other big 
need as we go into

633
00:26:03,095 --> 00:26:05,063
these future phases, 
I think everyone agrees

634
00:26:05,063 --> 00:26:06,298
is contact tracing.

635
00:26:06,298 --> 00:26:08,400
Your boss, Mayor 
Jim Strickland talked,

636
00:26:08,400 --> 00:26:09,902
was on the show a few weeks ago,

637
00:26:09,902 --> 00:26:12,271
time blurs together 
for everyone right now.

638
00:26:12,271 --> 00:26:14,006
Talking about the 
city had some capacity

639
00:26:14,006 --> 00:26:16,141
with existing employees 
for the contact tracing.

640
00:26:16,141 --> 00:26:19,211
Will the city be 
ramping up the number

641
00:26:19,211 --> 00:26:21,313
of contact tracing 
individuals it has,

642
00:26:21,313 --> 00:26:24,082
and could that federal 
money be put toward that?

643
00:26:24,082 --> 00:26:25,517
- Well, I'll answer the 
last question first,

644
00:26:25,517 --> 00:26:27,252
and absolutely, that is 
one of the reasons that

645
00:26:27,252 --> 00:26:28,987
the federal money was allocated

646
00:26:28,987 --> 00:26:30,789
was to pay for 
additional capacity.

647
00:26:30,789 --> 00:26:33,091
So Dr. Haushalter 
at the Health Department

648
00:26:33,091 --> 00:26:34,827
has conveyed to the 
joint task force

649
00:26:34,827 --> 00:26:37,196
her needs for 
additional staffing.

650
00:26:37,196 --> 00:26:39,431
Obviously as we open 
up, folks of the city

651
00:26:39,431 --> 00:26:40,899
who have been volunteering

652
00:26:40,899 --> 00:26:42,468
and helping out over there 
doing contact tracing,

653
00:26:42,468 --> 00:26:44,436
and we've had a number 
of other volunteers

654
00:26:44,436 --> 00:26:46,572
from other agencies 
pitch in and help

655
00:26:46,572 --> 00:26:48,874
with that contact tracing, 
we very much appreciate it.

656
00:26:48,874 --> 00:26:50,542
But when we get 
back to business,

657
00:26:50,542 --> 00:26:52,578
those folks may have 
to go back to work.

658
00:26:52,578 --> 00:26:55,113
So this is an 
opportunity to hire

659
00:26:55,113 --> 00:26:57,316
and expand a staff 
of permanent folks

660
00:26:57,316 --> 00:27:00,719
who will do that contact tracing 
for the Health Department

661
00:27:00,719 --> 00:27:03,522
or the contact investigations, 
and more importantly,

662
00:27:03,522 --> 00:27:05,224
equally important 
is the monitoring

663
00:27:05,224 --> 00:27:06,859
of people who have been 
put into quarantine.

664
00:27:06,859 --> 00:27:10,262
So she needs some 
additional capacity,

665
00:27:10,262 --> 00:27:12,731
the federal money can be 
used for that capacity.

666
00:27:12,731 --> 00:27:13,966
You heard Mayor Harris 
talk yesterday,

667
00:27:13,966 --> 00:27:15,968
and said that some 
of the federal money

668
00:27:15,968 --> 00:27:18,337
from the county will 
be used to plus up

669
00:27:18,337 --> 00:27:19,838
the capacity of the 
Health Department

670
00:27:19,838 --> 00:27:21,573
and we fully expect 
that to happen,

671
00:27:21,573 --> 00:27:23,509
and will be underway 
very quickly

672
00:27:23,509 --> 00:27:26,845
so that we do have 
that capacity there.

673
00:27:26,845 --> 00:27:29,748
- All right, well we are 
out of time for this week.

674
00:27:29,748 --> 00:27:31,517
Doug, I appreciate 
you joining us

675
00:27:31,517 --> 00:27:36,522
and join us again next week 
and stay safe, thank you.

676
00:27:37,689 --> 00:27:38,857
- Thank you Eric, 
thank you Bill.

677
00:27:38,857 --> 00:27:41,460
[intense music]

678
00:27:57,743 --> 00:27:59,878
[acoustic guitar chords]