Three things for October 29
1. Two dead in Meigs County bus crash
On Tuesday, Oct. 28, a school bus was involved in a crash with a utility service vehicle on State Highway 58 in Meigs County, Tennessee.
A 7-year old girl was killed in the crash, as was the bus driver, 53-year-old Lisa Dillard.
The crash also resulted in several injuries, requiring five children to be airlifted to a hospital, while two other children were transported via ambulance.
Four students are currently in stable condition in Chattanooga hospitals, while three students have since been released.
Blood Assurance in Cleveland supplies Erlanger Hospital with blood.
According to WRCB, over 600 people donated blood on Tuesday, late into the night. The original 10 p.m. closing time was extended until 2 a.m. due to the number of people waiting to give blood.
To make an appointment with Blood Assurance, call 800-962-0628 or schedule online at bloodassurance.org/schedule.
2. Walker announces 36 COVID-19 cases on campus
Following Tuesday’s update on COVID-19 numbers, Dr. Mark Walker announced Wednesday that Lee currently has 36 active cases on campus.
This is nearly double the reported 20 active cases on campus from Tuesday’s announcement.
Walker said that none of the cases exist within a cluster of cases at the moment.
“By the way, [these 36 cases] only represent one percent of our students that are on campus, so we see this as a very small number,” Walker said in a video, which was emailed en-masse to the Lee community.
Among students currently infected, 11 cases exist across seven dorms, while 25 cases involve off-campus students and faculty. County data indicates Bradley County is averaging 27.7 news cases a day from Oct. 15 to Oct. 28, up from 20.8 in the previous 14 day period.
Walker strongly emphasized the importance of protective measures like wearing a mask, utilizing social distancing and adhering to Lee’s system of temperature checks and health screenings.
3. Zeta brings extensive damage to Southeast
Hurricane Zeta made landfall on the Louisiana coast as a Category 2 hurricane on Wednesday. The storm swept across the Southeast on Thursday morning, claiming three lives in its wake.
According to AP News, the storm left a trail of damage and more than 2.5 million homes and businesses without power.
When assessing the damage, Georgia Power tweeted, “Damage assessment marks the first phase of the restoration process and crews are in the field. High winds, heavy rain and fallen trees have left many without power. Stay alert in these still dangerous conditions following the storm.”
The National Hurricane Center said the storm made history for being the 11th named storm to make landfall in the continental U.S. in a single season.
