New Shelby County health directive eases COVID-19 restrictions on bars and restaurants Shelby County weekly test positivity rate as of March 6, 2021 (Source: Shelby County Health Department) By WMC Action News 5 Staff | March 17, 2021 at 12:51 PM CDT - Updated March 17 at 3:10 PM
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - The Shelby County Health Department is loosening some COVID-19 restrictions with a new health directive and mask order.
Health Directive No. 19 extends dine-in service until 1 a.m. instead of midnight and customers can stay until 1:30 to finish the meal or pay.
The new directive also gets rid of the two-hour dining limit and allows for bar seating with 6 feet of social distancing. It also allows up to eight people together at a table. People seated together must be of the same family unit or close contact group.
Statewide, case numbers have dropped by two thirds in the last month.
In Shelby County, the positivity rate of COVID-19 tests is at 9.3 percent, the lowest itâs been since early November.
âThis is a very dramatic decline that weâre very encouraged by,â said Dr. Piercey.
But deaths from COVID-19 remain at the highest rate statewide since the pandemic began.
Tennessee Department of Health Commissioner Dr. Lisa Piercey said death reports lag behind case numbers by several weeks and she hopes that number decreases very soon.
âDeath reporting does continue to be at a very high level, that is to be expected and it does not necessarily signal that anything bad or unexpected is going on,â said Dr. Piercey.