How will this be enforced? What about scooters? Will disinfectant wipes be provided?

Until we have abundant testing, measures such as these have to be taken. It's all about sparks and transmission chains. 2 sides of the same coin - compliance and enforcement. "Bars, gyms, and restaurants" - IOW places where ppl gather in groups (of potentially wide ranging ages) of 10 or more. The window has closed nationally on containment, but slowing smaller scale community transmission in places like Knoxville, TN, Charleston, WV or Sioux Falls, SD is still possible. The cops may be a component of formal enforcement, but local news having a story about how your gym/bar/pub/restaurant is still open during a pandemic is bad for business both now and later.

Understanding what works: How some countries are beating back the coronavirus

Any universities still in session should send students home, especially those living in dormitories “which are one step away from cruise ships in terms of density and poor ventilation,” he said.

Lipsitch said time is limited to make a difference.

“The data that we just assembled from Wuhan about the timing and magnitude of the peak demand for critical care shows first that it can very quickly — even without that many people being infected compared to the whole population — exceed per capita bed capacity in the United States,” Lipsitch said.

He noted there was a four-week lag between the shutdown of Wuhan and the overwhelming of critical care units. “So if you wait till you see a problem, then you have another month of agony, at least.”

It appeared that was the kind of message Britain was not heeding.

Don’t wait - Stay ahead of and flatten the curve.

COK employees have been encouraged to work from home if possible beginning Monday.

And someone needs to fence off Pigeon Forge, send everyone home and don't let anyone back in. Honestly you wouldn't know that anything was happening looking at the Parkway.

I just saw four empty KAT buses driving around downtown this Saturday afternoon.

Likewise, those with less means or without cars may still need to get to a job, etc. Bus drivers are not likely to get re-purposed to, say, run the ER. Presumably the buses are being cleaned more aggressively on a routine basis, if the point was "they might spread the virus". That's a legit concern, but I think we have to defer to KAT on that. I believe for now buses are considered essential.

Two of the empty buses were downtown trolleys. That's a ridiculous prioritization of resources right now. Bringing non-existent college students to the bars on Gay Street and South Knoxville? Someone should be fired for that decision.

Not too big of a demand for people needing a ride from the City County Building to campus. As in, zero people.

What are the other stops on route?

I haven't done a scientific study, but most buses I see run empty or near empty. Agree, bus service is essential for some, but it does seem there is waste in the system. But there's waste everywhere. I'm still seeing F-150s (driver only) zooming down residential streets at speeds way too high, and idling in grocery parking lots ...

See here is the thing about 0% loans. They pay for themselves as long as you spend them and put the money back into the cashflow of the economy. It pays to keep that bus running. We won't know until after the spring break curve plays out, and something will happen, how bad our first wave is going to be. We're about ten days out, a little less maybe. If our first wave holds, and we get used to face masks ( I bought a sewing machine. I'm not going to wait for a lazyass capitalist to do anything that nets him less than that 4000% profit he thinks he's earned. I'm making my own damn facemasks and riding the greenways.), I think we can be a model for battling this disease. I think the maps should be posted and sprayed and wiped clean by the drivers in the absence of riders. It is imperative that as many people possible be kept employed through this crisis. How are we going to know the pockets where people are breaking protocol if city street workers aren't working the streets? It's smart government to keep that bus running. It pays for itself.

One crappy weather Saturday on the eve of the apocalypse is hardly a baseline data point by which to redesign future city transportation systems. As a taxpayer, being accountable for backing this, the first thing I'm asking myself is what kind of neighbor and boss do I want to be? Second, since we don't know if we need that route in two weeks or not, it behooves all of us to have a motivated, diligent, highly invested employee, not on coughing up the bus for revenge against all the assholes that went out of their way to screw up the workers lives. This is about doing right by people, not profit. Profit is done for a while.

Could the buses be utilized to do mobile testing?

The city should have a transportation capability. A fully operational bus service is a vital component towards that end. Let's keep them running as a commitment to the hope that normal, or new normal behavior will return.

It's fair to be upfront with the bus drivers. People are bitching. Document your value. Request cleaning supplies. Use them. As people downsize, our bus system will become more important. We'll need you then, we need you now. Be flexible. Demand the routes be run. Make sure all the bike mounts work.

Wash your hands. Use disinfectant wipes to wipe stuff down. Practice social distancing. Teach social distancing.

Keep your sanitizer stash close at hand as often as possible. Share it with everyone you encounter.

Are all new inmates brought into Knox jails tested as part of admissions process?

At lunch today I drove by a Chik-Fil-A on Kingston Pike and saw a few groups sitting and eating at outside tables. It didn't occur to me that we could do that. So we can get take-out at a restaurant and eat on the restaurant's patio?