Noncontact large attractions will be open for businesses in Tennessee by the end of the week, and capacity restrictions will be lifted for restaurants and retail businesses, Gov. Bill Lee announced.
The state will shift its focus away from capacity restrictions and instead emphasize social distancing, Lee said. The large attraction guidance will apply to businesses that can follow the social distancing guidelines and enact strong measures to protect employees and customers. These attractions include racetracks, amusement parks, waterparks, theaters, museums and other attractions.
Recommended Stories
Under the increased capacity, restaurants still will be asked to keep tables 6 feet apart and retail stores are meant to keep customers 6 feet apart. The restriction on social gatherings of 10 or more still will be in place.
These guidelines will affect 89 of Tennessee’s 95 counties. More densely populated areas, which have their own health departments, are operating on their own schedules. These counties are Shelby, Madison, Davidson, Hamilton, Knox and Sullivan.
“Tennesseans have worked incredibly hard to do their part and help slow the spread of COVID-19 so that our state can begin to reopen,” Lee said in a news release. “Thanks to their continued efforts, we’re able to allow restaurants and retail businesses to operate at greater capacity and large attractions to open in a safe and thoughtful way. Our state continues to see downward trends in case growth and meets the White House criteria for a phased reopening. This progress has been hard-won, and we can build upon it by reopening while also maintaining common-sense safety measures like mask-wearing and good hygiene. By taking the Tennessee Pledge, our businesses can reopen in a way that protects the health of their customers and employees, and protects the livelihoods of hard-working Tennesseans.”
The state has seen a continued decrease in flu- and COVID-like symptoms since March 22. It also has seen a reduction in the percentage of new test results that come back positive in the most recently measured 14-day block. From May 1 to May 14, this number trended downward by nearly four percentage points. Overall percent positivity also has trended downward.
Tennessee has had more than 18,000 COVID-19 cases and at least 301 deaths, according to the state department of health’s most-recent numbers. The country has more than 1.54 million positive cases and at least 90,578 deaths.
COVID-19 is a respiratory disease caused by a novel coronavirus. COVID-19 symptoms appear within two to 14 days after exposure and include fever, cough, difficulty breathing, chills, repeated shaking with chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat and new loss of taste or smell.
