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You are here: Home / FEATURED POSTS / Health Department Announces 29th COVID-19 Death, Calls for Social Distancing and Face Masks in Waiting Rooms

Health Department Announces 29th COVID-19 Death, Calls for Social Distancing and Face Masks in Waiting Rooms

June 23, 2020 By Dick Cook and Contributed Article Leave a Comment

The Hamilton County Health Department regretfully announces the death of a female Hispanic child in the 0-10 year age bracket who had no underlying medical conditions. This brings the COVID-19 death total of Hamilton County residents to 29.

“The Health Department grieves with the family and the community for the loss of this child,” said Health Department Administrator Becky Barnes, “We stress once again how important it is to wear a mask and practice social distancing to keep this virus from spreading. These are simple yet necessary acts of kindness that could save a life.”

The Health Department COVID-19 hotline has received complaints from patients who have visited medical offices and reported that facemasks were not being worn and distancing not being practiced in waiting rooms. All businesses that offer a waiting roomare strongly urged to follow the Tennessee Pledge guidancethat people in waiting rooms should wear facial coverings and maintain a minimum of 6 feet of distance from others.

The Health Department has published several new informational videos in English and Spanish. Readers are encouraged to share these resources on their social media:

  • English Facebook page
  • Spanish Facebook page
  • English YouTube channel
  • Spanish YouTube channel

Free COVID-19 testing from the Health Department can be found in an easy-to-read calendar format on their updated website. Testing this week will be at Hardy Elementary and East Lake Academy, over the weekend at Hardy Elementary and Greater Tucker Baptist Church, and next week at Brainerd High School. See their website for complete details.

The Health Department updates their total test results to 32,470. The Health Department’s COVID-19 data page can be viewed here.

For more information, call the Health Department’s COVID-19 hotline at 423-209-8383.

Filed Under: FEATURED POSTS, News

About Dick Cook

Dick Cook has lived in East Ridge since the Kennedy Administration when his parents bought a house on Marietta Street. Dick graduated from ERHS in 1976 before going on to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga where he studied Political Science. Dick worked for the Chattanooga Free-Press and the Chattanooga Times Free Press for 22 years. Free-Press Sports Editor Roy Exum plucked him out of production in 1989 and gave him a job as a sports reporter. Dick covered everything from prep sports to the whitewater events on the Ocoee River for the 1996 Olympics. When Chattanooga's two paper's merged, he became the Crime Reporter covering both the Chattanooga Police and Fire Departments. He was among reporters who were honored by the Associated Press for the TFP's coverage of the 2002 fog-shrouded crash on I-75 in Catoosa County, Dick and his wife, Cathy, live on Marlboro Avenue where they are seen frequently chasing around their three grandsons.

About Contributed Article


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