COVID-19 In Tennessee

By: Logan Antio

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Since the beginning of August, COVID-19 cases have surged by the thousands. Tennessee has the highest number of new Covid-19 cases by population throughout the United States. According to the CDC, Knox County alone has had over 3,000 active cases and 26 deaths in the past seven days. The CDC's coronavirus tracker website also shows Tennessee with a seven-day case rate of about 790 per 100,000 people. The Tennessee Department of Health has reported that there have been 1,900+ cases among school-aged children in the past 14 days. According to the state Health Department, within all of Tennessee, there have been 28,350 school-aged children cases as of Monday.

These numbers have caused people to believe that Governor Bill Lee's COVID-19 policies are dishonest, dangerous, and inexcusable. On the other hand, many Tennessee residents support Gov. Lee's executive order number 84, giving parents the right to opt-out of an order or requirement for a student(K-12) to wear a face covering. Because the state will not consider a statewide mask mandate, Tennessee Health Commissioner Lisa Piercey has said, "Vaccination is the single best tool we have to prevent COVID-19 both in ourselves and in our communities."

As of September 2, twenty school districts in Tennessee have closed due to being understaffed and coronavirus outbreaks. Although schools are able to temporarily close to mitigate the amount of Covid cases from schools, they can not provide virtual instruction due to state rules preventing it. Closing schools temporarily will cause them to use their 10 annual weather days to do so. Gov. Lee stated that there are no plans to improve flexibility for schools and virtual learning.