NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee announced Monday he will allow his stay-at-home coronavirus pandemic order to expire on April 30, with the “vast majority” of businesses in 89 counties allowed to reopen on May 1.
The Republican governor’s coronavirus plan specifically excludes six of the state’s largest counties, all of which have their own health departments. That list includes Hamilton County as well as Shelby, Madison, Davidson, Knox and Sullivan counties as they plan their own “reopen strategies.”
Lee told reporters during his Monday afternoon video news conference that state policies to curb rates of new infections are working. As a result, the governor said, “we are working round the clock to be certain that some business will be able to open as soon as Monday, April 27.”
The governor also said his Economic Recovery Group is working with industry leaders on how businesses can open “according to specific guidance that we will provide in accordance with state and national experts in both medicine and business.”