• About
    • About Us
    • What We Cover
  • Advertise
    • Advertise
    • Our Advertisers
  • Contact
  • Donate
  • Send News
  • Subscribe

Oak Ridge Today

  • Home
  • Sign in
  • News
    • Business
    • Community
    • Education
    • Government
    • Health
    • Police and Fire
    • U.S. Department of Energy
    • Weather
  • Sports
    • High School
    • Middle School
    • Recreation
    • Rowing
    • Youth
  • Entertainment
    • Arts
    • Dancing
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Television
    • Theater
  • Premium Content
  • Obituaries
  • Classifieds




Gov. Bill Lee issuing ‘stay at home’ order

Posted at 3:34 pm April 2, 2020
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Bill Lee

Note: This story was last updated at 4:48 p.m.

On Thursday, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee said he will sign Executive Order 23 requiring that Tennesseans stay home unless they are carrying out essential activities. Lee said he is issuing the order because data shows an increase in movements across the state.

“We need all Tennesseans who can to stay home,” Lee said during a Thursday afternoon press conference that was broadcast online.

The governor issued a “safer at home” order this week that urged people to stay home except for essential business. But not as many are staying home as officials would like, and there had apparently been some disregard for the public health guidance.

“It’s dangerous, it’s unacceptable, and it’s a threat to life in the community,” Lee said.

The new order goes further, he said.

“Staying home is not an option,” Lee said. “It’s a requirement.”

Businesses are being asked to comply, and enforcement could be used, the governor said.

“We’ll take necessary steps appropriate for enforcement as we see them,” Lee said. Law enforcement agencies can enforce the order in their own way, Lee told reporters, and clear enforcement is appropriate.

Advertisement

The Oliver Springs Police Department said violating the executive order will be a Class A misdemeanor. “Please everyone take this seriously and stay in when possible,” the OSPD said.

In a press release, Lee said officials had seen decreases in movement around the state during the past few weeks as Tennesseans socially distanced and stayed at home.

But in the past several days, there had data indicating that movement may be increasing. “There was clearly a rise in movement,” Lee said.

“We must get these numbers trending back down,” the governor said. “I have updated my previous executive order to clearly require that Tennesseans stay at home unless they are carrying out essential activities.”

Data from the Tennessee Department of Transportation analyzed traffic patterns for March 2020, the press release said. While “safer at home” measures and further restrictions on businesses showed a steep drop-off in vehicle movement from March 13-29, data beginning on March 30 indicates travel is trending upwards, again, the release said.

The governor’s administration also analyzed data from Unacast to understand cell phone mobility and determine movement trends among people. Unacast indicates the movement of Tennesseans is trending toward pre-COVID-19 levels, the press release said.

“The month of April stands to be an extremely tough time for our state as we face the potential for a surge in COVID-19 cases,” Lee said. “Every Tennessean must take this seriously, remain at home, and ensure we save lives.”

The executive order remains in effect until April 14 at 11:59 p.m. Lee said he will address the measures in a press briefing today at 3 p.m. Central time.

The number of COVID-19 cases in Tennessee increased to 2,845 on Thursday, with 32 deaths and 263 hospitalizations. Two hundred twenty patients have recovered, according to the Tennessee Department of Health.

Tennessee Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally, an Oak Ridge Republican, said he agreed that a stronger mandate was needed.

“The numbers don’t lie,” McNally said. “As the peak of the COVID crisis approaches, it is more important than ever that we flatten the curve and prevent a run on needed resources.”

More information will be added as it becomes available.

You can contact John Huotari, owner and publisher of Oak Ridge Today, at (865) 951-9692 or [email protected]

Most news stories on Oak Ridge Today are free, brought to you by Oak Ridge Today with help from our advertisers, sponsors, and subscribers. This is a free story. Thank you to our advertisers, sponsors, and subscribers. You can see what we cover here.


Do you appreciate this story or our work in general? If so, please consider a monthly subscription to Oak Ridge Today. See our Subscribe page here. Thank you for reading Oak Ridge Today.

We also accept donations. You can donate here.

Copyright 2020 Oak Ridge Today. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Filed Under: COVID-19, Front Page News, Government, Health, State, Top Stories Tagged With: Bill Lee, COVID-19, executive order, safer at home, Stay at Home, Tennessee

Advertisements

 

Join the club!

If you appreciate our work, please consider subscribing. Besides helping us, your subscription will give you access to our premium content.

Most of our stories are free, brought to you by Oak Ridge Today with help from our members—advertisers, subscribers, and sponsors.

But some are premium content, available only to members. Those are in-depth, investigative, or exclusive stories that are available only on Oak Ridge Today. They generally require at least four hours to report, write, and publish.

You can subscribe for as little as $5 per month.

You can read more about your options here.

We currently offer five primary subscription options to readers, and they include benefits.

Basic

  • Basic monthly subscription ($5 per month)—access premium content
  • Basic annual subscription ($60 per year)—access premium content

Pro

  • Pro monthly subscription ($10 per month)—access premium content, get breaking news emails first, and submit one press release or public service announcement per month
  • Pro annual subscription ($100 per year)—save $20 per year, access premium content, get breaking news emails first, and submit one press release or public service announcement per month

Temporary

  • Temporary access ($3 per week for two weeks)

We also have advanced subscription options. You can see them here.

We also accept donations. You can donate here.

If you prefer to send a check for a subscription or donation, you may do so by mailing one to:

Oak Ridge Today
P.O. Box 6064
Oak Ridge, TN 37831

Thank you for your consideration and for reading Oak Ridge Today. We appreciate your support.

Commenting Guidelines

We welcome comments, but we ask you to follow a few guidelines:

1) Please use your real name, including last name. Please also use a valid e-mail address.
2) Be civil. Don't insult others, attack their character, or get personal.
3) Stick to the issues.
4) No profanity.
5) Keep your comments to a reasonable length and to a reasonable number per article.

We reserve the right to remove any comments that violate these guidelines. Comments held for review, usually from those posting for the first time, may not post if they violate these guidelines. Thank you for your patience and understanding. Thank you also for reading Oak Ridge Today and for participating in the discussion.

More information is available here.

More Government News

Tower rebuilding complete, South Illinois re-opened overnight

The replacement of a large high-voltage transmission tower was completed Sunday, Jan. 24, 2021, and South Illinois Avenue re-opened to traffic at about midnight. (Photo courtesy Tennessee Valley Authority) The … [Read More...]

South Illinois Avenue to re-open by midnight

South Illinois Avenue is expected to re-open by midnight Sunday, Jan. 24, 2021, near the University of Tennessee Arboretum after being closed for more than two days because of a large high-voltage transmission tower that … [Read More...]

AC Democratic Women to hear about income inequality Monday

Millicent Taylor, an adjunct professor at Pellissippi State Community College, will discuss income inequality as the guest speaker at the Monday, January 25, meeting of the Anderson County Democratic Women’s … [Read More...]

Photos: TVA transmission tower repair

Crews replace the Tennessee Valley Authority's high-voltage steel lattice transmission tower knocked over in a crash at Union Valley Road and South Illinois Avenue on Friday, Jan. 22, 2021. (Photo courtesy City of Oak … [Read More...]

South Illinois could re-open Monday

Crews repair the damage to the Tennessee Valley Authority distribution system after a pickup truck crashed into a high-voltage steel lattice transmission tower, causing widespread power outages in Oak Ridge and the … [Read More...]

More Government

Recent Posts

  • Tower rebuilding complete, South Illinois re-opened overnight
  • DOE photographer dies at 62
  • South Illinois Avenue to re-open by midnight
  • AC Democratic Women to hear about income inequality Monday
  • Photos: TVA transmission tower repair
  • South Illinois could re-open Monday
  • Crews repairing damage after crash knocks down power tower
  • Part of South Illinois Ave. remains closed
  • Power restored to Oak Ridge except for Arboretum
  • Charges pending, three injured in crash into TVA transmission tower

Recent Comments

  • Matt Bailey on Dodson also wants to serve as mayor pro tem
  • Mark Caldwell on Dodson also wants to serve as mayor pro tem
  • Matt Bailey on Dodson also wants to serve as mayor pro tem
  • Mark Caldwell on Dodson also wants to serve as mayor pro tem
  • Matt Bailey on Dodson also wants to serve as mayor pro tem
  • Tracy Powers on Planning Commission to consider Main Street apartments, plan revisions
  • johnhuotari on Four incumbents re-elected to Oak Ridge City Council
  • Levi D. Smith on Four incumbents re-elected to Oak Ridge City Council
  • samuel hopwood on Housing: Apartments proposed on former AMSE site
  • Matt Bailey on Robin Smith named Oak Ridge police chief

Search Oak Ridge Today

About Us

About Oak Ridge Today
What We Cover

How To

Advertise
Subscribe

Contact Us

Contact Oak Ridge Today

Copyright © 2021 Oak Ridge Today