NEWS FROM MY NECK OF THE WOODS: Coronavirus in Tennessee: Knox County cases up to 146, one new death reported. “The Knox County Health Department said Wednesday the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Knox County now stands at 146. Knox County reported 20 new positive local cases and one new death Wednesday, bringing the total number of deaths to four. There are now 65 active cases in the county as of April 8. . . . The total number of recovered cases now stands at 77 up from 74 on Tuesday. Recovered refers to those who have been released from isolation. Nineteen of the 146 cases have resulted in hospitalization at any point during the illness. This figure does not reflect the number of patients currently hospitalized in the county. A total of 2213 tests have now been conducted.”

Meanwhile, I was talking to a friend who owns some businesses in Knoxville and mentioned that I’d heard the local SBA office was flooded. His response is encouraging: “Well they have turned over a whole lot of stuff to the banks. And our banks, Truist/BB&T, Regions have been phenomenal. Hell I get notices about stuff coming online and fill it all out. When filling out my application for Payroll Protection Program, at 11:45 pm Saturday night, I had a question, emailed our bank representative and our CPA, and they both responded within 10 minutes!”

He also got a notice that the University of Tennessee is refunding his kid’s unused room & board for the semester, something I didn’t know we were doing, but I’m glad we are.