City of Memphis Requires Negative COVID Test to Stay at Shelters & Warming Centers Following Ice Storm

The city of Memphis experienced a severe ice storm Thursday night that carried into Friday morning.

As of 8 a.m. Friday morning, Memphis experienced over 3,200 outages affecting about 125,000 customers.

That equates to 1 in 3 MLGW (Memphis Light Gas and Water Division) customers without power after the ice storm.

It could be days before power is restored for some customers.

WREG reported:

Restoration efforts for this event are estimated to cost around $15 million, MLGW Senior Vice President and COO Alonzo Weaver said.

“You may not see a crew working, but we’re working to get your power back, you can count on that,” Weaver said.

The city has 23 crews working on removing trees from roads, city Public Works Director Robert Knecht said. All trees should be removed by Saturday.

The mayors of both Memphis and Shelby County have declared a state of emergency after the winter storms.

Along with the warming center which provides overnight shelter, the City of Memphis will open three more locations to provide a place to get warm, charge your phone and get information and snacks. https://t.co/MkHx43HBiD

— FOX13 Memphis (@FOX13Memphis) February 5, 2022

MLGW customers attempting to escape the freezing cold and temporarily stay at a warming center must provide a negative COVID-19 test, according to Shelby County Commissioner Tami Sawyer.

So, the city of Memphis would rather citizens risk frostbite and hypothermia if they can’t provide the results of a faulty test for a cold-like virus.

And common sense tells you that being in frigid weather places those without electricity at a higher risk of getting sick than being inside a warming center.

It’s another disgusting example where individuals lack humanity or intelligence.

The city of Memphis, Tennessee is requiring residents escaping the cold to show proof of a negative COVD test if they want to access shelters and warming centers, per Shelby County Commissioner Tami Sawyer. pic.twitter.com/kc9PZCjobK

— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) February 5, 2022

#Memphis Please be aware that most warming centers and places open to the public for heat & electricity require masks. Shelters and city run warming centers require proof of negative COVID19 test. Results from Rapid tests are allowable at most places.

— Tami Sawyer (@tamisawyer) February 5, 2022

https://twitter.com/tamisawyer/status/1489792275349753859

FOX 13 wrote:

In response, the City of Memphis, Office of Emergency Management and the American Red Cross partnered to open four locations to provide hospitality, a place to get warm, charge your phone or other devices, information and snacks.

The respite centers will be open from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, the City of Memphis said.

The Dave Wells Community at 915 Chelsea Ave, Memphis, Tennessee 38107, the Orange Mound Community Center at 2572 Park Ave, Memphis, TN 38114 and the Bellevue Baptist Church at 2000 Appling Rd, Cordova, TN 38016 will all operate as shelters for people needing some hospitality and a temporary break from the conditions.

In addition to those three locations, the warming center at the Hickory Hill Community Center (3910 Ridgeway Road) will continue to operate as long as needed and provide overnight shelter to those in need.

COVID-19 testing and social distancing are required to spend the night in the Hickory Hill Community Center. Masks are highly recommended.