Note: This story was last updated at 1:45 p.m. April 14.
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee on Monday said he will extend the state’s “stay at home order” through Thursday, April 30.
The order, issued Thursday, April 2, had been scheduled to expire at 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, April 14, but it has been extended for 16 days. The order requires Tennessee residents to stay at home unless they are carrying out essential activities. (You can learn more about essential businesses and services in the image above and on this website page.)
The order was extended to the end of the month in cooperation with guidance from the White House, Lee said during a press conference broadcast online on Monday afternoon. The governor’s updated executive order is available here.
Tennessee has had more than 10 days of single-digit growth, rather than double-digit growth, in the number of COVID-19 cases, Lee said, calling the trend encouraging.
“We’re not out of the woods yet, and it could be some time,” Lee said. “But it is clear that the actions that we take at the state, combined with the local level—most importantly with the determination of our citizens and the bravery of our first responders and our health care workers on the front lines—those efforts have saved countless lives across Tennessee, and for that we are thankful.”
The governor’s new executive order, Executive Order 27, extends temporary social distancing and the stay-at-home provisions of previous executive orders that, among other things:
- prohibited social gatherings of 10 or more people;
- told restaurants, bars, and similar food and drink establishments to offer take-out or delivery options only;
- directed gyms and fitness or exercise centers to temporarily close and suspend in-person services;
- restricted visitation in nursing homes, retirement homes, and long-term care or assisted-living facilities; and
- applied to close-contact personal services and entertainment and recreational gathering venues.
The “stay at home” order has been in place as Tennessee, like other states and countries around the world, tries to reduce the spread of COVID-19, a contagious respiratory illness that can be deadly.
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