Josh Peterson

Tennessee has now reported 4,634 cases of COVID-19 as of April 9, including 94 deaths, 505 hospitilizations and 921 recovered. This count now includes 10 cases in Coffee County, this is up from seven yesterday. Coffee County has had 247 tests returned negative, according to the Tennessee Department of Health.

Thirty-six Tennessee Department of Health COVID-19 assessment sites across the state will be open from 9 a.m. to noon local time on Friday, April 10 and Saturday, April 11, this includes the Coffee County site at 615 Wilson Avenue in Tullahoma.

Nurses at each site will conduct nasal swab collection for testing. Test results may be available within 72 hours of arrival at the lab, depending on the volume of tests the testing lab receives.

Tennessee’s rural county health department clinics will be closed for other services on April 10 in observance of Good Friday.

People in high-risk categories, including contacts of confirmed cases; people in occupations with exposure to large numbers of contacts; health care workers; nursing home residents; severely immunocompromised patients; critically ill patients; pregnant women and people who have COVID-19 symptoms are prioritized for testing.

People who have suspected or known cases of COVID-19 but are not severely ill should stay home while they recover. People with suspected or known COVID-19 who have severe underlying health conditions or are older adults should contact their health care provider to ask if they have additional recommendations for care. Anyone who develops severe symptoms should call ahead to their health care provider if possible prior to seeking care.

New unemployment claims in Tennessee and across the nation continue to climb at an alarming rate amid this COVID-19 pandemic. The week ending April 4, there were 112,438 new unemployment claims in Tennessee. That makes over 246,000 claims in the past three weeks. For a reference, there were only 2,702 claims the week of March 14, the week just before the pandemic hit.

Nationally, 6.6 million Americans filed for benefits last week, which brings the total to over 17 million.
Many economists now put the US unemployment rate at 13 percent, although officials numbers have not been released.

CraftWorks Holdings LLC, which is parent company to several restaurants, including Logan’s Roadhouse, has laid off nearly all of its 18,000 employees and closed corporate locations.

CraftWorks filed court documents saying they planned to cut expenses to bare minimum to preserve value and to reopen restaurants in the future.

Fewer than 25 people remain with the entire organization. All of the Tennessee’s Logan’s locations, including the one located on Relco Drive in Manchester, are labeled as “temporarily closed.”

Logan’s Roadhouse official website says it will keep customers posted through its website and social media channels. Logan’s Roadhouse Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2016.

Sunday, April 12 is Easter. And with many churches not meeting due to social distancing restrictions, we want to remind all of our listeners that we offer a wide variety of church programming every Sunday, including this Easter Sunday. We have syndicated content, along with local content.

Programming begins at 7 a.m. and runs through noon, with more church programming from 7-9 p.m. each evening.

Thunder Radio church programming includes messages from Pocahontas Church of Christ, New Union Church of Christ, Forest Mill Church of Christ, Antioch Church of Christ, New Life Baptist Church, First United Methodist Church, Bible Methodist Church, among others. Tune in at 107.9 FM, 1320 AM, 106.7 FM or stream by clicking here. 

All City of Manchester government offices will begin closing on Fridays, starting April 13. Manchester Mayor Lonnie Norman made the announcement Wednesday morning.

“In continued efforts to combat the spread of COVID-19 and to support the State ‘Safer at Home’ order all offices for the City of Manchester will be closed on Friday’s beginning on April 13th,” the statement reads. “City Hall will remain closed to the public with the exception of the Police lobby. Majority of services performed at City Hall will continue online or by phone. Offices will be staffed Monday through Thursday from 7am until 5:30pm for calls and online services. Bill pay is available online, payment drop boxes, and drive-thru window. All of our services continue to operate. Our public safety workers in fire and police continue their normal hours and shifts. Trash collection is running on schedule. If you know of a senior citizen in our community needing assistance, please call 931-723-8288 or 931-728-4652.”

There are now 4,362 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Tennessee, including 79 confirmed deaths. This according to the Tennessee Department of Health as of 2 p.m. Wednesday.

There have been 56,618 tests performed and 449 hospitalizations. There have been seven confirmed cases in Coffee County. There have been 226 tests that have returned negative results in Coffee County, according to TDH.

Due to circumstances resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and the national emergency declaration, the Department of Homeland Security, as directed by President Donald J. Trump, is extending the REAL ID enforcement deadline beyond the current October 1, 2020 deadline.

It was determined that states require a twelve-month delay and that the new deadline for REAL ID enforcement is October 1, 2021.

The federal, state and local response to the spread of the Coronavirus here in the United States necessitates a delay in this deadline. Tennessee and local partners are working tirelessly with the Administration to flatten the curve and, therefore, states want to remove any impediments to response and recovery efforts.

States across the country are temporarily closing or restricting access to DMVs. This action will preclude millions of people from applying for and receiving their REAL ID. Extending the deadline will also allow the Department to work with Congress to implement needed changes to expedite the issuance of REAL IDs once the current health crisis concludes.

If you applied for emergency cash assistance due to COVID-19 with the Tennessee Department of Human Services, there is a disaster hotline you can call to see if you’ve been approved and how much your family will receive through the state of Tennessee.

You can call 1-833-496-0661. Before calling, be sure to have your social security number ready.
It’s worth mentioning, this is a program through the State of Tennessee and is in now way connected to the federal government’s CARES stimulus program.

Before you do call, here are a few things you should know:

*You will likely receive a response via email within 10-15 days, so you can check there first. If you are approved, a card will be mailed to you.

*If you are denied, you can appeal the decision by clicking here. 

See a full list of guidelines by clicking here. 

All City of Manchester government offices will begin closing on Fridays, starting April 13. Manchester Mayor Lonnie Norman made the announcement Wednesday morning.

“In continued efforts to combat the spread of COVID-19 and to support the State ‘Safer at Home’ order all offices for the City of Manchester will be closed on Friday’s beginning on April 13th,” the statement reads. “City Hall will remain closed to the public with the exception of the Police lobby. Majority of services performed at City Hall will continue online or by phone. Offices will be staffed Monday through Thursday from 7am until 5:30pm for calls and online services. Bill pay is available online, payment drop boxes, and drive-thru window. All of our services continue to operate. Our public safety workers in fire and police continue their normal hours and shifts. Trash collection is running on schedule. If you know of a senior citizen in our community needing assistance, please call 931-723-8288 or 931-728-4652.”

All of Middle Tennessee, including Coffee County, has been placed under an enhanced risk of severe weather for overnight Wednesday into Thursday morning. Outlying areas are under a slight risk of severe weather.

According to the US National Weather Service office in Nashville, potential severe weather will not reach Coffee County until late into the night, more specifically around 1-3 a.m. Expect damaging winds, large hail and isolated tornadoes.

“Please treat Severe Thunderstorms Warnings in the same fashion you would a Tornado Warning,” NWS stated. “Winds blowing in a straight line versus those spinning around in a circle at 70 mph or more can do the same kind of damage. JUST TAKE SHELTER.”

This is a good time to review your severe weather plan with your family and identify a safe location in the lower level of your home, preferably away from windows. Mobile homes are not safe and occupants should have a plan to seek alternate shelter if weather becomes severe.

Have multiple ways to receive warnings, including NOAA weather radio, text alerts and other loud, audible alerts that will wake you from sleep.