The top health official in the only Tennessee county with an indoor mask requirement says she is cautiously optimistic that a recent coronavirus surge is slowing down, citing a drop in the number of cases and hospitalized children. Dr. Michelle Taylor is director of the Shelby County Health Department. She told reporters Thursday that officials are seeing “a plateauing of the numbers, if not a drop in the numbers” of virus cases. The health department in Shelby County issued a mask mandate for all indoor spaces in August. Taylor is crediting the mask mandate for much of the improvement.