NASHVILLE -With Tennessee coronavirus positivity rates now hitting 10%, White House coronavirus response coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx warned Monday the state is at an “inflection point” and urged all 95 county mayors to mandate residents wear protective masks, close bars and implement social distancing to dampen the spread of the virus.
“Tennessee is at that inflection point,” Birx told reporters after several hours of meetings with Gov. Bill Lee and other officials.
Lee has declined to mandate mask usage statewide, instead empowering county mayors to do so if they choose. The governor last week launched what he says is a multimillion-dollar public service announcement campaign with television, radio and digital ads encouraging people to wear face coverings.
Birx said that while she spoke to the governor about a statewide mandate, her purpose in speaking with Lee, a Republican, and Nashville Mayor John Cooper, a Democrat, and other officials was to emphasize among other things that Tennessee is now in the “red zone” category in terms of coronavirus infections increasing.
“What does that mean, they were 10% test positivity, they are now over 10% positivity, and the No. 1 bullet is mandate masks, close your bars and have social distancing. Tell every Tennessean to not socially gather with more than 10 people, to not socially gather even with your relatives if they’ve been elsewhere because of the chances of spreading this virus.”