While Hamilton County faces an unprecedented surge in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, some of the most aggressive strategies to stop the spread appear dead on arrival in terms of implementation. At the same time, local business owners worry any further restrictions without assistance could mean the end of their livelihoods.
In its latest weekly report, the White House COVID-19 Task Force recommends that Tennessee limit restaurant indoor capacity to less than 50% and restrict hours until cases and the percent positive of new tests decreases.
Meanwhile, a study published Tuesday in the journal Nature found that a majority of infections were coming from a small group of places and restricting the occupancy levels at these types of establishments would work better to slow the spread of COVID-19 than a widespread shutdown order.
The researchers used hourly cell phone data of 98 million Americans from the 10 largest cities in the United States and compared it with maps of COVID-19 spread to create simulations about how reopening plans would affect spread of the virus.
The study found “points of interest” like restaurants, gyms, religious organizations and hotels caused the largest increases in infections when reopened compared to other non-residential points of interest. In fact, the virus spread so unevenly that the model showed about 85% of all infections were driven by 10% of those establishments.