The Knox County Board of Health voted Wednesday night to close all restaurants and bars at 11 p.m. each night, including "bring your own" businesses.
The new rule levels the playing field for all establishments after a previous curfew of 10 p.m. applied only to bars and was generally considered to be unenforceable. The new prohibition is effective 12:01 a.m. Sept. 18 and will expire Oct. 1 unless extended. The measure passed 8 to 1.
The board also voted Wednesday night to restrict indoor public and private gatherings to 25 people of fewer. The restriction focuses on indoor public gatherings like concerts, conferences and sporting events — not restaurants and bars — and it specifically does not apply to churches, funerals, private homes, nursing homes, protests, weddings or rights of way.
The measure takes effect 12:01 a.m. Sep. 18 and expires Oct. 1 if not extended. The measure also passed 8 to 1.
County Mayor Glenn Jacobs was the only board of health member to vote against both measures.
Board members cited the importance of limiting alcohol-fueled nightlife as a way to slow the spread of coronovirus in the community. Businesses on The Strip on Cumberland Avenuenear the University of Tennessee at Knoxville loomed large in the discussion.
"I took a field trip Saturday night across the city late and was able to see how a number of areas and businesses were operating," said board member Dr. Patrick O'Brien. "And I was to put it mildly, not happy with what I saw."
"Knox News had a photographer out the exact time that documented what I saw," he continued. The photos showed students lined up and being admitted into the bars well past the curfew.
Board member professor Marcy Souza pointed out that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had just released a study saying that found that people who tested positive for COVID-19 were twice as likely to have gone out to a restaurant or bar in the previous two weeks.
Just before the meeting, a coalition of restaurant and bar owners represented by the Isaacs Law Firm sent a letter to the board asking members to postpone the vote on a alcohol and food sales curfew.
"We are requesting that any decision making, or vote be immediately tabled until the affected parties have a meaningful opportunity to express their concerns to the Board of Health," wrote attorney Gregory Isaacs on behalf of his clients.
Board members, however, were concerned about delaying the vote another week because their goal was to mitigate the spread before it gets worse.
"I read the letter, it's a shot across the bow kind of letter but I'm not worried about its content," said Knox County Senior Deputy Law Director David Sanders. "As far as the board doing anything illegal by proceeding with the agenda item my answer is no. It is not illegal."
"This board is not obligated to a standard of perfect science. This board is obligated to have a good reason," Sanders continued.
Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs spoke vigorously against the proposed order, saying bars and restaurants operate on thin margins and less late-night revenue would hurt them even more. He said that the order would unfairly burden law enforcement with "confrontation."
Only Jacobs voted against both measures.
Economics versus safety
Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon also spoke at the meeting. She said businesses on the Strip depend on UT being open and that if UT closed due to COVID-19, they would suffer even more dramatically. Kincannon said store owners had come to her to ask for restrictions.
"We don't want UT to have to close. We don't want schools to have to close," Kincannon said, saying restrictions put in place now will help stop a dangerous increase in cases.
The meeting came the day after White House Coronavirus Task Force coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx met with county and university officials to discuss the local response to COVID-19. While Birx was effusive in her praise for the university, she was less so with county officials. She urged them to work comprehensively - and swiftly.
"We don't want double standards," Birx said. "We don't want excellent student activities ... of mask wearing and physically distancing on campus and then a sense that once they are in the community there is a different (required) activity."
UT's cases skyrocket, but new measures aim to get control
COVID-19 cases at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville have risen sharply since classes resumed. On the first day of classes in late August, UT reported 105 cases of coronavirus. Cases multiplied by almost seven times that by Sept. 10 with 672 cases. A residence hall was turned into an isolation dorm.
"We emptied out Massey Hall," said UT Chancellor Donde Plowman. "And we tested every person in that hall. We found a 7-8% positivity rate. All asymptomatic students."
Until now, UT had only tested symptomatic cases. Plowman said that asymptomatic students had been moved to isolation.
But there was some good news: Active cases have declined slightly this week. The university reports 499 cases as of its most recent update.
By the end of August, Knox County's cases appeared to have plateaued. The number of cases was largely flat between July and August. Deaths were still happening but the pace slowed down.
But it didn't last. As the university's COVID-19 cases spiked, so did the county's.
While students were cohabitating on campus or flocking to the Strip for nightlife, the virus spread. The Knox County Health Department's benchmarks, which track the progress of the pandemic using a color-coded traffic light system, shifted from a mostly safe "green" to mostly yellow or red on Sept. 9 where they have stayed this week.
"We continue to see most of our new cases in school-aged up into college-aged young adults," she continued, "656 cases between Aug. 30 to Sept. 5, that's a pretty significant increase."
Between Sept. 1 and 16, the county detected 2,105 new cases. For comparison the whole month of August saw 2,790 new cases. The largest single day increase of cases, 222, occurred the first week of September. The majority of these cases were in school-aged through college-aged people.
"It's really that 14-22 year old age group that we see the most cases in our community," said Buchanan. "We are doubling our cases quite rapidly."
Data from the University of Tennessee Medical Center supports the county data. In a presentation to the board, member Dr. James Shamiyeh warned that across the Knoxville hospital district, case growth was on track to exceed both July and August. He said that Birx told him that college-aged cases should be treated like any other.
"(Birx's) comment was that these people, these students, are mixing in the community and should be treated like any other," said Shamiyeh. He pointed out that the Knoxville hospital district was increasingly responsible for the case growth state-wide.
Decreased testing a concern
The board briefly discussed declining testing volumes across the county and state. Board members were worried that they were unable to capture the full picture of COVID-19.
"If anyone has any ideas on how to increase testing we are open to it but we haven't come up with it," said Buchanan. "Tennessee's testing volume has decreased by 50% in the recent past."
Board member professor Maria Hurt pointed out that Tennessee had gotten back on the White House Coronavirus Task Force red list, as had Knox County.
"Folks, we are in the red zone," said Hurt. "The head of the White House Task Force doesn't just stop by randomly in a city in the U.S. for tea and crumpets."
Knoxville Police Chief Eve Thomas said she intended to meet with both Troy Lane, the UT Police Department chief, and the Knox County Sheriff's office to coordinate enforcement. She said police had difficulty enforcing the curfew when it applied to bars only.
"If we can get a clearer definition (of a bar) that would help tremendously," said Chief Thomas.
Vincent Gabrielle reports on science, technology and culture, and their intersection in the Oak Ridge Corridor. Follow him on Twitter @VincentDGabriel. Make our community, our society and our republic stronger by supporting robust local journalism. Subscribe to Knox News at knoxnews.com/subscribe.
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