The executive order for face coverings that was issued by Roane County Executive Ron Woody on Monday could be in effect through December 29 unless Woody and Tennessee Governor Bill Lee extend the order.
Woody announced Monday morning that he was going to invoke the authority to mandate face masks in Roane County as authorized by Lee’s order in July.
The mask mandate does not apply to:
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Note: This story was updated at 4:45 p.m.
Anderson and Roane counties reported record-high one-day increases in COVID-19 cases on Wednesday as the pandemic appears to have returned to or surpassed July levels. Anderson County set another record on Thursday.
Roane County reported 41 new cases on Wednesday, and Anderson County reported 40.
Update: Anderson County reported another record increase on Thursday, 46 new cases. It’s the second day of a record increase in COVID-19 cases in Anderson County.
The previous high in Anderson County was 39 on July 23. Until now, July had been the worst month of the pandemic.
The previous high in Roane County had been 34 on October 23. It followed an earlier peak of 33 on July 23.
Oak Ridge is in both Anderson and Roane counties. Most of the city’s residents live in Anderson County, but the west end of the city is in Roane County.
[Read more…]The City of Oak Ridge does not have the authority to require face masks to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, officials said Wednesday.
The number of COVID-19 cases in Anderson County, which includes Oak Ridge, has increased significantly this month. The county had 178 total cases on Thursday—a 70 percent increase since July 2—and the number of active cases more than doubled in eight days.
As the number of cases has surged in the region, people have set up social media groups where members have reported on mask use at local businesses and offices and called for mandatory masks, including in Oak Ridge and its schools.
On Wednesday, the city said it is prohibited from enacting or enforcing a mask requirement because of a Tennessee attorney general opinion issued in April and an executive order from Tennessee Governor Bill Lee in May. (The attorney general’s opinion is Opinion Number 20-07, and the executive order is Executive Order Number 38.)
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Note: This story was last updated at 11:35 a.m.
Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank will not require face masks in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee announced Friday that he was giving county mayors in 89 of the state’s 95 counties the authority to recommend or require face coverings in their counties.
On Tuesday, Frank said she would not exercise the authority to require face coverings.
“The people of Anderson County have been doing a wonderful job following the governor’s guidance, and I often express how proud I am of the job they’ve been doing throughout this COVID-19 pandemic,” Frank said. “I trust and respect the people of Anderson County, and I believe it is through encouraging healthy behaviors, promoting prevention, and praising each other that we achieve the greatest health outcomes.”
Frank’s announcement comes as the number of COVID-19 cases has surged in Anderson County. The county added 39 new cases between Thursday and Monday, pushing the total up to 144, and the number of active cases about doubled from 32 on Thursday to 63 on Monday.
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Note: This story was updated at 9:05 p.m.
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee on Friday granted county mayors in most of Tennessee to require or recommend face masks.
The governor’s order, Executive Order 54, is meant to allow county mayors to respond to significant increases in COVID-19 cases.
Tennessee’s densely populated areas, including the Memphis and Nashville areas, continue to have many of the state’s COVID-19 cases.
But local governments want more flexibility to respond to rising cases, and that includes “setting stronger expectations around masks,” Lee said in a press release Friday evening.
“This targeted approach ensures we protect both lives and livelihoods and safely keep our economy open in Tennessee,” the governor said. “We encourage every Tennessean across the state to use a face covering or mask, make sure to socially distance, and wash hands frequently.”
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The extension of the COVID-19 emergency in Tennessee has delayed the start of the high school football and girls soccer seasons.
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has extended the COVID-19 state of emergency until August 29. A prior order by the governor includes limitations and restrictions on contact sporting events and activities.
In an update sent to member schools on Tuesday, Bernard Childress, executive director of the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association, said member schools cannot have any competition or scrimmage with other schools while the governor’s order is in place. The schools cannot have close contact activities during practice for football, 7-on-7 football, girls soccer, wrestling, and basketball. Football and girls soccer cannot begin their seasons as originally scheduled, Childress said.
The Oak Ridge football season opener had been scheduled for August 21.
The TSSAA Board of Control had a special meeting Wednesday and voted unanimously to require that member schools follow the governor’s executive order for sports activities.
The board discussed the effect that the extended COVID-19 state of emergency will have on contact sports in the fall. Football, girls soccer, and competitive cheer are considered contact sports.
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Note: This story was last updated at 2:30 p.m. June 28.
Tennessee reported about 1,400 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, a new daily high, and the state passed 40,000 total cases on Saturday.
There were 1,410 new cases reported Friday. Of those, 1,396 were new confirmed cases, according to the Tennessee Department of Health. Fourteen were new probable cases.
The previous high was 1,188 new cases a week earlier, on June 19.
Seven of the state’s top 10 highest new daily case counts have been in the past two weeks. Five of them have been in the past five days.
The number of cases increased by 728 on Saturday, pushing the total to 40,172. Of those cases, 39,848 were confirmed, and 324 were probable.
The number of cases in Anderson County rose by one to 90 on Saturday. The day before, on Friday, the case count went up by eight, the highest increase in the county. Previously, the largest daily increase had been five.
While the hospitalization rate has fallen across the state, the number of current hospitalizations has increased during the past few weeks from 391 on Friday, June 12, to 484 on Thursday, June 25.
[Read more…]Restaurants and retail stores in most of Tennessee’s counties can increase their capacity starting Friday if they follow certain guidelines, and large attractions such as amusement and water parks, auditoriums and theaters, and zoos and large museums can re-open under certain conditions on Friday.
Restaurants and retailers had been limited to 50 percent capacity since re-opening the week of April 27. There is no certain capacity limit for restaurants, as a percentage, under the updated guidelines released by the Tennessee Economic Recovery Group on Wednesday. Instead, the focus is on making sure tables are properly spaced.
The restaurants and retailers had been closed for about a month as the state tried to reduce the spread of COVID-19, a contagious respiratory disease that can be deadly.
Under the new guidelines, restaurants and retail stores can increase their capacity starting Friday as long as they continue to follow social distancing protocols. For restaurants, those protocols include continuing to space tables six feet apart—or installing physical barriers where adequate separation isn’t possible. Bars are to remain closed unless they are used for seated, in-restaurant dining where there is six feet of separation between customer groups. Live music is permitted with certain precautions, including maintaining at least 15 feet of separation between performers and an audience in order to reduce potential exposures.
[Read more…]Barber shops, hair salons, nail spas, massage therapy services, and similar businesses can re-open in 89 of Tennessee’s 95 counties on Wednesday, May 6.
The potential re-openings in the 89 counties, which include Anderson and Roane, was announced by Tennessee Governor Bill Lee this week. It’s part of the phased re-opening of the economy. Much of Tennessee has been shut down for about a month or more as the state tries to reduce the spread of COVID-19, a contagious respiratory illness that can be deadly.
There are certain guidelines that businesses are expected to follow as they re-open. The guidelines include limiting the number of customers in a business to 50 percent of its capacity, trying to keep people at least six feet apart as much as possible, wearing cloth face coverings, and requiring appointments for services.
The businesses allowed to re-open on Wednesday are called “close contact” businesses. Their re-opening follows the re-opening of restaurants on Monday, April 27; the re-opening of retail stores on Wednesday, April 29; and the re-opening of gymnasiums and exercise facilities on Friday, May 1.
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Note: This story was updated at 5:45 p.m.
The number of COVID-19 cases in Tennessee passed 10,000 on Tuesday.
The number of new cases reported fell to 134. That was just a 1.4 percent daily increase in COVID-19 cases, the lowest percentage increase going back to at least March 20.
It came just two days after the biggest one-day increase. On Sunday, 478 new COVID-19 cases were reported, the most new cases reported in one day in Tennessee.
But Tennessee Department of Health Commissioner Lisa Piercey has urged residents to not focus too much on the daily variations in the number of cases. People should instead focus on trends, Piercey said.
[Read more…]Gymnasiums and exercise facilities in 89 of Tennessee’s 95 counties will be able to re-open on Friday, May 1.
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee announced the possible re-openings on Tuesday.
The six counties that are excluded from the governor’s announcement are those with locally run health departments: Davidson, Hamilton, Knox, Madison, Shelby, and Sullivan.
The Tennessee Economic Recovery Group has announced guidelines for how gyms and exercise facilities can re-open safely as the state continues to try to control the spread of COVID-19, a contagious respiratory illness that can be deadly.
“Exercise is incredibly important for the physical and mental health of our population, and we want Tennesseans to have access to safe environments where they can exercise as appropriate,” Lee said in a press release. “These guidelines outline best practices in keeping with recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and health experts for gyms to reopen in a way that will keep their employees and customers safe.”
[Read more…]Restaurants were allowed to re-open under certain guidelines in 89 of the state’s 95 counties on Monday, and retail stores can re-open under similar guidelines on Wednesday.
The guidelines include operating at 50 percent capacity and maintaining social distance (generally keeping people at least six feet apart). The state recommends no live music, and restaurant bars should be kept closed. The state also recommends that employees in both industries wear cloth face coverings and that business owners follow federal guidelines for hygiene and workplace sanitation standards for COVID-19.
The 85 counties where restaurants and retail stores can re-open include Anderson and Roane counties.
Many businesses have been closed or operating under changed conditions as Tennessee, like other states and countries, tried to reduce the spread of COVID-19, a contagious respiratory illness that can be deadly.
“Tennesseans pulled together to flatten the curve, and it is time for people to begin to get back to work and back to their businesses,” Tennessee Governor Bill Lee said. “We are pursuing a careful, measured approach to reopening our economy that does not depend on heavy-handed mandates but instead provides practical tools for businesses of all sizes.”
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