NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Tennessee started out its fight against coronavirus by declining to tell people which counties the virus had been found in. Then came a wave of criticism from across the state.
That outcry may explain why the state ultimately backed down and made more data public.
“I find your decision to not release where the latest Coronavirus cases are located to be deplorable,” wrote Margaret Burgess, from Cookeville, in a March 10 email to Gov. Bill Lee’s office. “I am 75 years old and have just been diagnosed with a cancerous spot on my lung. My husband is 80 years old. For this info to not be available, puts us in double jeopardy.”
Others were more colorful in their feedback.
“What do you think you are some jack booted dictator,” wrote Lloyd Sanders of Cottage Grove. “It is the lives of my family you are screwing with. Panic is caused by the unknown.”