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In another step to combat the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, pandemic, Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland issued an executive order that requires Memphis residents to stay at home, unless they serve an essential service.

Named the "Safer at Home" executive order, the mayor's order will take effect on Tuesday at 6 p.m. The order will be in effect for two weeks, but could be extended further.

Understanding the order:Memphis' 'safer at home' executive order: What is an essential service?

"We are in serious, unprecedented times, which call for action to keep everyone safe. ... Memphians are safer at home," Strickland said. The mayor once again said Memphis is at a crossroads between the outcomes seen in Italy and South Korea.

"We can choose the path of doing nothing and have rampant infection throughout our city, causing health care providers to ration life-saving medical equipment ... or we can choose to take this situation seriously, and slow the spread of the virus. We are choosing to take this seriously," Strickland said.

The executive order will bar all nonessential businesses from operating. Services designated as essential include walk-in health services, hospitals, grocery stores, pharmacies, gas stations and restaurants serving to-go menu items only.

A full list of designated essential services and the services considered nonessential can be found on the city's website.

Similar orders from Shelby County and Germantown quickly followed Memphis' order. At an afternoon news conference, Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris said all Shelby County municipalities would likely have orders in place by Tuesday evening.

The Monday order continues a steady progression of social-distancing measures mandated by the City of Memphis government over the past week. Strickland declared a civil emergency Thursday, giving him powers to impose a curfew and shelter-in-place. No curfew has been imposed.

The most recent executive order is a further use of those powers, which Strickland also used to force restaurants and bars to take out only at midnight Thursday. He then closed movie theaters, bowling alleys and other venues Sunday.

When he announced the "Safer at Home" order Monday, Strickland noted that many in the medical community, including Dr. Manoj Jain, the infectious disease expert employed by the city of Memphis during the outbreak, supported and had asked for his decision. Several stood alongside Strickland — though about six feet apart — while he announced the order.

Martin Croce, chief medical officer at Regional One Health, said, "Some of this may seem a nuisance or a punishment to the community, nothing could be further from the truth. This is a serious illness. This is a serious disease. ... It's imperative that we follow these sorts of guidelines in order to reduce the spread of this disease."

Jimmie Mancell, head of the Memphis Medical Society and the chief of medicine at Methodist University Hospital, said, "These are unprecedented times and make no mistake, our medical community making those recommendations understand the burden that this puts on everyone, but we also understand that if we don't take it seriously, what may be coming down the road."

How will it be enforced

During the news conference, Strickland said the Memphis Police Department would not be actively pulling people over and asking them where they were going. They would look for businesses that are included on the nonessential list and remained open, he said.

He said the city would rely on the intense social pressure built up around the issue to help enforce it.

Jennifer Sink, the city chief legal officer, clarified further after the news conference.

"The theory that we have is a police officer could write a citation to any individual business who is refusing to comply," Sink said. "We do expect that people are going to be compliant. Some people may need to be reminded or educated further about the order, but, based upon our experience with the previous two executive orders, once people became (aware) of the order, they became fully compliant."

City has 185 ventilators, receiving donations of masks

At the news conference Monday, Dr. Jeff Warren, a physician and member of the Memphis City Council, fielded a question about the amount of ventilators and medical beds available in the city.

“Currently we have 712 of 1231 beds available. We have 62 of 114 negative pressure (ICU) beds available. And we have 153 of 185 ventilators available or that we can bring online. We are also looking at surgical outpatient centers that have ventilators as well as anesthesiologists," Warren said. "Hospitals are looking now about where they have extra beds to bring them up. And we may be sending a call to retired nurses and physicians to come back and help.”

Keith Norman of Baptist Hospital said that local hospitals continue to purchase and seek personal protective equipment or PPE and were taking measures to conserve the use of such equipment. He noted, like many medical groups have nationwide, that the price of such PPE has climbed in recent weeks amid the outbreak.

Strickland said the city received a donation of 3,000 N95 respirators from Home Depot over the weekend. City government ordered $50,000 worth of masks in the past few weeks, but they haven't come in.

Warren said the steps Memphis is taking could help flatten the curve and "will let us get our civilization back."

"I think we are poised to be ... in the best shape in our country because we've been on this early," Warren said.

Samuel Hardiman covers Memphis city government and politics for The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached by email at samuel.hardiman@commercialappeal.com.