Josh Peterson

Saturday, March 28, Unity Medical Center was notified by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) that it conducted testing on a patient who tested positive for COVID-19.

“We immediately activated protocols for handling COVID-19 cases,” Unity said in a press release. “The protocols in place allowed Unity staff to test the patient in at outside structure without entering the facility. After speaking with the provider, it is reported that the patient is self-isolating at home and reports that they are doing well. Unity Medical Center will continue following precautions to ensure the safety of our patients, colleagues and visitors.

“In addition, as we often do during heavy influenza outbreaks, visitor restrictions have been instituted. We are not allowing visitors inside of the hospital and have reduced entry to one set of doors, located at the Emergency Department. All employees and patients will be screened prior to entry to the facility. We have positioned supplies at this point of entry, so that any potential symptomatic patient who arrives can be properly masked and immediately isolated to protect our colleagues and other patients.

“We continue to reinforce infection prevention protocols and work in partnership with The Tennessee Department of Health and the CDC. We will provide updates to our hospital and medical staff as necessary.”

Coffee County Mayor Gary Cordell and Manchester Mayor Lonnie Norman released similar statements on the matter late Saturday.

“This is not unexpected,” read part of Cordell’s statement. “Your local officials have been preparing for and expecting this for weeks. We are coordinating with the TDH and the healthcare community to make sure all Coffee County residents are protected.

“The worst thing we can do during trying times like this is panic,” Cordell continued. “It is important to remember that the vast majority of patients that contract this virus have a mild course of illness and recover quickly. If you are ill with respiratory symptoms, it is very important that you call your doctor first. Do not go to the emergency department or any doctor’s office without calling first. We all have to work together to make sure our healthcare community is not overwhelmed.”

Tennessee Department of Health reported 1,537 cases of COVID-19 as of Sunday afternoon, this includes 7 deaths and 133 hospitalizations.

Manchester has closed down its park facilities to the public, effective Saturday, March 28, due to social distancing concerns amid COVID-19 pandemic.

Per Manchester Mayor Lonnie Norman’s office, the park facilities at Fred Deadman Park, Dave King Park, Manchester Sports Park will be closed – this includes ADA Wright Center, ball fields, skate park and dog park facilities. The Little Duck River Greenway will remain accessible. Restrooms remain open and will close at 4:30 p.m..

“This is a safety precaution for our citizens,” said Bonnie Gamble, Manchester Director of Parks and Recreation.
The Recreation Center had already been closed prior to this announcement, but parks had remained open.

“Mayor Lonnie Norman announced Friday the Parks Department is working to stop the spread of COVID-19 and protect the Manchester Community,” the city said in a press release. “With the sunny weather and higher temperatures, people who are off work and out of school due to COVID-19 are congregating in our Parks, which remain open. Since the CDC recommends physical distancing of at least six feet and fewer than 10 people in a location, the City of Manchester is following those guidelines by limiting close contact spaces at this time. I have implemented a physical distancing awareness campaign throughout the park and city using banners to remind citizens to practice safe distancing.

“Many families enjoy our City parks and they can still do that in wide open spaces and keeping a physical distance of six feet from non-family members. Some folks are continuing to gather in close-contact spaces like playgrounds, dog parks, and the skate park. In order to protect everyone, we must close those spaces until further notice.”

“Effective Saturday, March 28, playgrounds in all parks will be closed. The skate park at Fred Deadman Park will be closed until further notice. The dog park and soccer fields will also be closed. Dogs will be allowed on leash in all areas of the parks, and the Parks and Recreation staff asks you to clean up after them. Pavilions in all parks will remain open, but the City urges families to only congregate in groups of ten, or less, and abide by CDC guidelines. It is important to note City parks have many wide-open green spaces across the city and those spaces will remain open. Restrooms will remain open, but will be locked at dusk.”

Duck River Electric Membership Corporation stopped disconnections of electric service for non-payment on March 19 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“These actions were taken in recognition of the financial hardships some members may face due to the coronavirus outbreak. We understand electricity is essential for the health and safety of you and your family during these difficult times.” said Duck River Electric Membership Corporation President & CEO Scott Spence.

All members will still receive regular monthly electric bills, and payment is appreciated by the due date as Duck River Electric must continue to pay the wholesale power bill for the power consumed. Payment by the regular due date will help keep future rates as low as possible.

“We cannot solve many of today’s national or international problems, but we want to do what we can to help you,” Spence said. If you have questions, please call our office for more information.

In an effort to help connect our local citizens with area businesses that have taken on different operating procedures and hours during this COVID-19 pandemic, on Friday Thunder Radio launched a page on our website called Code COVID.

“ As a local, small, family-owned business ourselves here at Thunder Radio, we encourage you to continue patronizing small businesses if you have the means to do so financially and safely,” said Josh Peterson, co-owner of Thunder Radio. “We are doing our best to focus our news coverage on these businesses and offer a resource for the community to visit and see altered hours and altered operations so, hopefully, they can continue to do business with these folks.”

To visit the Code COVID page, click here. This page will remain stagnant on the main menu of the Thunder Radio website through this pandemic and business listings are at not cost. If you own or operate a business and your information needs to be added or updated, email wmsr@thunder1320.com

Unity Medical Center has made changes to its hospital entrance policy that took effect on Saturday, March 28.

“Effective Saturday, March 28, 2020, all hospital entrances except for the Emergency Room doors will be closed. All patients and employees will enter and exit using the ER doors and will be screened prior to entry.

“Patients with outpatient orders will enter through the Emergency Room and register with the ER registration clerk instead of using the front entry.”

 Saturday, March 28, Unity Medical Center was notified by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) that it conducted testing on a patient who tested positive for COVID-19.

“We immediately activated protocols for handling COVID-19 cases,” Unity said in a press release. “The protocols in place allowed Unity staff to test the patient in at outside structure without entering the facility. After speaking with the provider, it is reported that the patient is self-isolating at home and reports that they are doing well. Unity Medical Center will continue following precautions to ensure the safety of our patients, colleagues and visitors.

“In addition, as we often do during heavy influenza outbreaks, visitor restrictions have been instituted. We are not allowing visitors inside of the hospital and have reduced entry to one set of doors, located at the Emergency Department. All employees and patients will be screened prior to entry to the facility. We have positioned supplies at this point of entry, so that any potential symptomatic patient who arrives can be properly masked and immediately isolated to protect our colleagues and other patients.

“We continue to reinforce infection prevention protocols and work in partnership with The Tennessee Department of Health and the CDC. We will provide updates to our hospital and medical staff as necessary.”

Coffee County Mayor Gary Cordell released a statement on the matter late Saturday. 

“This is not unexpected,” read part of Cordell’s statement. “Your local officials have been preparing for and expecting this for weeks. We are coordinating with the TDH and the healthcare community to make sure all Coffee County residents are protected.

“The worst thing we can do during trying times like this is panic,” Cordell continued. “It is important to remember that the vast majority of patients that contract this virus have a mild course of illness and recover quickly. If you are ill with respiratory symptoms, it is very important that you call your doctor first. Do not go to the emergency department or any doctor’s office without calling first. We all have to work together to make sure our healthcare community is not overwhelmed.”

Tennessee Department of Health reported 1,373 cases of COVID-19 as of Saturday afternoon, this includes 6 deaths and 118 hospitilizations. However, those numbers do not reflect this positive test in Coffee County. 

Thunder Radio News will report more information as it is available. 

 Manchester has closed down its park facilities to the public, effective Saturday, March 28, due to social distancing concerns amid COVID-19 pandemic.

Per Manchester Mayor Lonnie Norman’s office, the park facilities at Fred Deadman Park, Dave King Park, Manchester Sports Park will be closed – this includes ADA Wright Center, ball fields, skate park and dog park facilities. The Little Duck River Greenway will remain accessible. Restrooms remain open and will close at dusk. 

“This is a safety precaution for our citizens,” said Bonnie Gamble, Manchester Director of Parks and Recreation.

The Recreation Center had already been closed prior to this announcement, but parks had remained open.

“Mayor Lonnie Norman announced Friday the Parks Department is working to stop the spread of COVID-19 and protect the Manchester Community,” the city said in a press release. “With the sunny weather and higher temperatures, people who are off work and out of school due to COVID-19 are congregating in our Parks, which remain open. Since the CDC recommends physical distancing of at least six feet and fewer than 10 people in a location, the City of Manchester is following those guidelines by limiting close contact spaces at this time. I have implemented a physical distancing awareness campaign throughout the park and city using banners to remind citizens to practice safe distancing.

“Many families enjoy our City parks and they can still do that in wide open spaces and keeping a physical distance of six feet from non-family members. Some folks are continuing to gather in close-contact spaces like playgrounds, dog parks, and the skate park. In order to protect everyone, we must close those spaces until further notice.”

“Effective Saturday, March 28, playgrounds in all parks will be closed. The skate park at Fred Deadman Park will be closed until further notice. The dog park and soccer fields will also be closed.  Dogs will be allowed on leash in all areas of the parks, and the Parks and Recreation staff asks you to clean up after them. Pavilions in all parks will remain open, but the City urges families to only congregate in groups of ten, or less, and abide by CDC guidelines. It is important to note City parks have many wide-open green spaces across the city and those spaces will remain open. Restrooms will remain open, but will be locked at dusk.”

Unity Medical Center in Manchester issued a press release late Wednesday informing local residents of COVID-19 testing information at the facility and some of the processes involved. As of Wednesday, the hospital has tested 33 patients, with 10 negative tests and the remaining 23 tests still outstanding as “labs are behind 7-12 days behind in reporting results.”

“Unity Medical Center’s top priority is always providing the best care for our patients and community. The staff at Unity is working tirelessly to ensure that each of our patients receives the appropriate care,” Unity said in a press release.

The remainder of the press release states:

Although [labs] are working hard to catch up, it is a difficult task. As healthcare providers around the country receive additional test kits, more tests are performed, the labs receive larger numbers of samples and the labs work diligently to reduce the turnaround time. Below are guidelines followed by Unity Medical Center.
The CDC and Tennessee Department of Health have issued criteria that must be met before Unity can test a patient for COVID-19. The criteria are:

Symptoms:
*Fever
*Cough and or difficulty breathing

Priority 1:
*Hospitalized patients with symptoms
*Symptomatic healthcare workers

Priority 2:
*Patients in long-term care facilities with symptoms
*Patient 65 years of age and older with symptoms
*Patients with underlying conditions and symptoms
*First responders with symptoms

Priority 3:
*Critical infrastructure workers with symptoms
*Individuals who do not meet any of the above categories with symptoms
*Healthcare workers and first responders
*Individuals with mild symptoms in communities experiencing high COVID-19 hospitilization

If you believe that you or a family member needs to be tested, please call your primary care provider or call Unity at 931-450-1730. Patients seeking testing should not walk into a medical clinic or the hospital per CDC guidelines. If your primary care provider orders a COVID-19 test, please call Unity at 931-450-1765 to schedule it. Everyone scheduled for a test will be given specific instructions of exactly how to proceed since CDC guidelines limit patients from entering a hospital for a test. Unity has set up a safe and effective process to test patients that meet state and federal recommendations.

“We know that this is a difficult and scary time for a lot of people, and we understand your concerns regarding your health and the health of your loved ones. Please rest assured that we at Unity are doing everything we can to provide safe and effective care for you. We appreciate all the support we have received from this amazing community and thank you for understanding the position all hospitals are in during this time. We would also like to thank our dedicated staff of employees working on the front lines as we confront this novel disease. We will continue to provide updates pertaining to COVID-19 and our testing capabilities until this subsides.”

Manchester City Schools will be serving weekend food bags along with breakfast and lunch items to Manchester City School students every Monday at Westwood Elementary and College Street Elementary between 9-11. The school can also do home drop deliveries after 11:00 am if you are in need.