Minutes after Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee began his Friday news conference to talk about his plan for a “slow, measured, stepped approach to reopening Tennessee from its three-week stay-at-home order, The number of America’s COVID-19 deaths edged past 50,000.
Asked by reporters what would happen if new cases of the novel coronavirus rise next week after businesses reopen, the governor said state officials will be watching “the data – the same data” they watched a month ago before installing safer-at-home and, on April 2, stay-at-home orders. Lee and state health commissioner, Lisa Piercey, said they will continue to “watch the trends.”
Let’s review our state’s COVID-19 trend.
* On Thursday, April 2, when the governor ordered Tennesseans to stay home for two weeks unless they were engaged in “essential activities or essential services,” the number of COVID-19 cases stood at 2,845, with 32 deaths, according to the Tennessee Department of Health’s daily virus update.
In Hamilton County, where Andy Berke, the mayor of Chattanooga, already had closed businesses citywide, confirmed cases numbered 52, with three deaths.