Knoxville News Sentinel

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The international outbreak of the coronavirus is hitting close to home.

Here are the latest big-picture updates about the virus in East Tennessee.

Cases rise across East Tennessee

As of Friday afternoon, at least 228 cases of the coronavirus have been reported in Tennessee.

Anderson County: 1

Blount County: 1

Bradley County: 1

Campbell County: 1

Cumberland County: 2

Greene County: 1

Hamblen County: 1

Hamilton County: 5

Jefferson County: 1

Knox County: 3*

Sevier County: 1

Sullivan County: 1

Washington County: 2

Resident of other state/counties: 40

*One person is attributed to Knox County because of their home address, but the person was tested out of state, lives out of country and was never in Knox County while ill.

Knoxville orders bars and restaurant to close, but Knox County is less strict

On Friday, shortly after the Knox County Health Department ordered bars to close and restaurants to limit seating, Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon took things one step further with an executive order to close restaurants, bars, gyms and commercial event venues within city limits for two weeks.

The Knox County order went into effect immediately Friday afternoon, while the city order starts at 8 p.m. Both decisions were made to combat the spread of coronavirus.

Kincannon said during a news conference Friday that the city decided "to be a little more proactive" because the city has a denser population than the county, making the risk of transmission higher.

READ MORE ABOUT THE CLOSURES

73 cases confirmed in Tennessee, including 2 in Knox County

The Tennessee Department of Health has confirmed 73 cases of COVID-19 in the state.

There were no cases reported in counties that had not previously reported a confirmed case.

The East Tennessee breakdown:

Campbell: 1

Hamilton: 1

Jefferson: 1

Knox: 2

Sevier: 1

Sullivan: 1

Sevier County has its first case of coronavirus

The Tennessee Department of Health reported 52 confirmed cases of the coronavirus across the state.

This number is up from 39 statewide reported on Sunday.

Two new counties were included in the count, with one case in each Campbell and Sevier counties.

GET THE LATEST STATEWIDE NUMBERS AND CASE LOCATIONS

Campbell County detects first case

Campbell County announced its first positive case of COVID-19 on Friday evening. As of Saturday afternoon, the case marked one of five in East Tennessee and 32 across the state, according to the Tennessee Department of Health.

In a statement, Campbell County Mayor E.L. Morton said the patient has remained at home. The state and local health departments, he added, "have declared that this patient has not communicated the virus to any other person."

Bijou, Tennessee Theatres close

Two Knoxville music and arts venues have closed in an attempt to help stem the spread of the virus.

The Bijou Theatre has postponed or canceled all events scheduled between March 14-31, while the Tennessee Theatre has postponed or canceled its events until April 6.

Both venues have plans to reevaluate the global situation, and decide whether to extend the closure, in the coming weeks.

Kincannon: Knoxville city services to stay open

In a brief video posted Friday, Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon said the city is "open for business" and stressed there is currently no plan for city services to cease amid the pandemic.

"As of right now, COVID-19 is not widespread in our community, and practicing personal distancing can help our city from experiencing the worst of the pandemic," Kincannon said as she stood in front of the Knox County Health Department, where she had just met with Director Dr. Martha Buchanan.

"I also want to thank all of the event organizers and charity groups that have taken upon themselves to cancel events in the interest of public health, out of an abundance of caution," the mayor added. "We too have canceled some city events, are we are constantly evaluating the situation to keep you safe."

State officials confirm 'community spread'

State health officials confirmed recently that COVID-19 is spreading person-to-person within the state of Tennessee. Residents spreading the virus to each other rather than bringing the virus in from out of state.

“Many of our earliest cases have clear travel history out of Tennessee,” said Shelley Walker, a department spokeswoman, in an email to The Tennesseean. “As COVID 19 spreads in Tennessee, more cases will not have a travel history because they became infected in Tennessee. Investigations will be ongoing.”

Health department officials confirmed that this was an anticipated but important, development.

First coronavirus case reported in Knox County

Knox County has its first detected case of the coronavirus, according to the Tennessee Department of Health.

The total number of Tennesseans infected with the coronavirus doubled Thursday, and there are now 18 cases in Tennessee: eight in Williamson County, six in Davidson County, two in Shelby and one each in Sullivan and Knox counties.

READ MORE ABOUT KNOX COUNTY'S FIRST CASE

Cancellations across Tennessee, Knoxville

The SEC canceled all sporting events — including the remainder of its men's basketball championship tournament — for the rest of the month, the league announced Thursday.

Saturday's St. Patrick's Day parade and festival in downtown Knoxville, along with the annual Spelling Bee, have also been cancelled amid growing fears of the spread of the virus. Cancellations continue to roll in.

You can find our rolling list of East Tennessee event cancellations here.

Gov. Lee declares state of emergency

As coronavirus continues to spread throughout the world, including Tennessee, Gov. Bill Lee declared a state of emergency on Thursday while making plans to shore up the state's medical resources in anticipation of a wave of new patients.

Lee's decision to declare a state of emergency comes two days after he said he such a move wasn't yet necessary until Tennessee had seen "clusters of affected patients."

"We believe there clearly will be more cases," Lee said Thursday on the need for the emergency declaration, minutes before a flood of sporting events were cancelled.

"This emergency is declaration is an important next step in our efforts to treat and mitigate the impact of this disease."

Coronavirus:What Gov. Bill Lee's state of emergency declaration means for Tennessee

UT, Johnson suspends all in-person classes

The University of Tennessee-Knoxville has suspended all in-person classes and will offer them online because of concerns about the coronavirus.

Students are expected to stay home after spring break, UT-Knoxville Chancellor Donde Plowman said in an email to students, faculty and staff Wednesday. Students unable to stay home can register for an exemption to stay on campus. At this time, the university has no cases of coronavirus

This will go into effect for classes beginning March 23, and they will be suspended until at least April 3 for Knoxville and Martin as a proactive measure in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, according to a release from the university. UT Chattanooga will be suspended until at least March 30.

UT Health Science Center will offer all face-to-face lecture classes remotely, beginning March 23.

UT is also cancelling all non-athletic events that would involve gatherings of 50 or more people, beginning March 16, Plowman wrote.

Johnson University will also be canceling in-person classes and moving to online because of concerns about the coronavirus. Beginning March 30, there will be no in-person classes and all athletic events are canceled.

Online classes run through April 10, and in-person classes are scheduled to resume April 13.

Knox County introduces coronavirus hotline

Knox County Health Department has launched a new COVID-19 Public Information Line. The hotline number is 865-215-5555 or toll-free at 888-288-6022. The information line will be available from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Call volume is expected to be high. Callers are urged to be patient if they receive a busy signal and try their call at a later time.

Big Ears Festival in Knoxville is canceled

Organizers have canceled the 2020 Big Ears Festival in Knoxville over concerns about coronavirus.

The festival was scheduled for March 26-29 in venues throughout downtown.

Notable acts that had been booked included Patti Smith, John Paul Jones, Devendra Banhart, Thundercat and Kim Gordon.

READ MORE ABOUT THE DECISION TO CANCEL BIG EARS

First East Tennessee case reported

The Tennessee Health Department has reported three additional cases of the coronavirus, including the first in East Tennessee.

The case, announced on Tuesday afternoon, is a patient of unknown gender in the Sullivan County metro area, according to a tweet from the health department.

"TDH is working closely with local health officials to support the ongoing investigations of COVID-19 cases. The overall risk to the public remains low as COVID-19 is not currently widespread in Tennessee or the United States."

READ MORE ABOUT TENNESSEE'S RECENT CASES

HonorAir Knoxville delays flight for veterans

HonorAir Knoxville, a program that brings World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War veterans to Washington, D.C., has delayed its April 15 flight because of concerns over the coronavirus.

The Flight to Honor Women Veterans now will take place Oct. 7.

"It is our goal at HonorAir Knoxville to always have the safety of our veterans, volunteers and staff as our first priority," president and founder Eddie Mannis wrote on the program's website.

READ MORE ABOUT THE HONOR FLIGHT DELAY

Oak Ridge scientists using supercomputer to fight the outbreak

Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists have focused the power of the world's fastest supercomputer to search for an existing drug that can prevent the new coronavirus from penetrating human cells.

Scientists hope to discover a known drug to stop COVID-19, the serious respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus, because drugs already in production would require less safety testing before use on patients, said Jeremy Smith, director of the joint University of Tennessee/Oak Ridge National Laboratory Center for Molecular Biophysics.

“What we are trying to find is a drug that would stop the coronavirus from doing its business,” Smith said. “Anything like that would be incredibly useful for the coronavirus.”

READ MORE ON THE WORK HAPPENING IN OAK RIDGE

Bristol focused on fan experience as big race nears

Thousands of fans and spectators will descend on Bristol Motor Speedway next month for two NASCAR races.

The Cheddar's 300, part of the NASCAR Xfinity Series, will take place on April 4, while the Food City 500, part of the NASCAR Cup Series, is scheduled the next day.

"We're always exploring, how are we making it safe for our race fans," said Jerry Caldwell, the general manager of Bristol Motor Speedway. "That's always top of mind for us. That's why we continue to encourage fans to practice good hygiene.

"But also come have some fun, and I think we can do those together."

READ MORE ABOUT THE PREPARATIONS AT BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY

University of Tennessee suspends international travel

The University of Tennessee is suspending all outgoing international travel because of the coronavirus, the chancellor announced on Thursday.

Previously, UT had suspended travel to China, South Korea and Italy because of similar concerns. All university-related international travel after March has been suspended indefinitely, UT-Knoxville Chancellor Donde Plowman wrote in an email to students, faculty and staff.

READ MORE ABOUT UT'S INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL

Blount County man had a suspected case, but tested negative

A man was admitted to Blount Memorial Hospital in Maryville for coronavirus testing, but the test was nagative.

While the man awaited his results, he self-isolated at home until the results were confirmed.

READ MORE ABOUT THE BLOUNT COUNTY TEST