Gov. Bill Lee Orders All Persons to Stay at Home Except for Essential Needs

Tennessee’s governor issued a Stay at Home order Thursday in an effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19 cases as the state races to increase hospital bed capacity for an anticipated surge of cases later this month.

On April 2, Gov. Bill Lee issued an executive order requiring all people in Tennessee to stay at home except for when engaging in essential activity or services. The order amended a previous order that had only urged people to do so.

“Because staying at home as much as possible for a temporary period of time will protect the health and safety of Tennesseans by limiting the spread of COVID-19 and preserving health care resources, all persons in Tennessee are required to stay at home, except for when engaging in Essential Activity or Essential Services as defined in this Order,” the executive order read.

The governor’s office said the Tennessee Department of Transportation analyzed traffic patterns for March 2020. While safer at home measures and further restrictions on businesses showed a steep drop-off in vehicle movement from March 13-29, data beginning on March 30 indicated travel is trending upwards, again. The Administration also analyzed data from Unacast to understand cell phone mobility and determine movement trends among people. Unacast indicates the movement of Tennesseans is trending toward pre-COVID-19 levels. Those increases in citizen movement across the state prompted the governor to issue the Stay at Home order today.

The order shall remain in effect until 11:59 p.m., Central Daylight Time, on April 14, 2020.

As of April 2, Tennessee had 2,845 COVID-19 cases confirmed by test. 263 cases required hospitalization. 32 cases resulted in fatalities. 220 people recovered from the infection.

Ten Sevier County residents tested positive for COVID-19.

212 Out of TN Residents and 103 Pending Location tested positive at testing facilities within the state (no disclosure of county where those persons tested positive and they are not included in any county count.)

Stay at Home Order defines Essential Activity, and the travel allowed to and from, as:

1. Engaging in activities essential to a person’s health and safety or the health and safety of family or household members, persons who are unable or should not leave their home, or pets, including, but not limited to, seeking emergency services, obtaining medical supplies or assistance, obtaining medication, obtaining non-elective medical care or treatment or other similar vital services, or visiting a health care professional;
2. Obtaining necessary services or supplies for persons and their family or household members, persons who are unable or should not leave their home, or pets or delivering those services or supplies to others, including, but not limited to, groceries and food, household consumer products, supplies required to work from home, automobile supplies (including dealers, parts, supplies, repair, and maintenance), and products necessary to maintain the safety, sanitation, and essential operation of residences;
3. Providing, facilitating, or receiving delivery or curbside carry-out delivery of online or telephone orders from businesses or organizations that do not perform or are not necessary for the performance of Essential Activity;
4. Engaging in outdoor activity, provided that persons the Health Guidelines to the greatest extent practicable, including, but not limited to, driving or riding in a vehicle, walking, hiking, running, biking, swimming, kayaking, canoeing, golf, tennis, or other sports or recreational activities that can be performed while maintaining the aforementioned precautions or utilizing public parks and outdoor recreation areas; provided, however, that congregating or playing on playgrounds presents a unique risk for the spread of COVID-19 and is therefore not covered as an Essential Activity;
5. Caring for or visiting a family member, friend, or pet in another household, or transporting or traveling with family members, friends, or pets as allowed by this Order; provided, that the Health Guidelines are followed to the greatest extent practicable;
6. Visiting a place of worship or attending a wedding or funeral; provided, that the Health Guidelines are followed to the greatest extent practicable. However, it is strongly encouraged that the public celebration component of weddings and funerals be postponed or attended only by close family members.

Essential services were defined in the previous executive order, with certain restrictions for social distancing and guidelines from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, and include:

• Health Care and Public Health Operations
• Human Services Operations
• Essential Infrastructure Operations
• Essential Government Functions
• Food and Medicine Stores
• Food and Beverage Production and Agriculture
• Organizations that Provide Charitable and Social Services
• Religious and Ceremonial Functions
• Media
• Gas Stations and Businesses Needed for Transportation
• Financial Institutions and Insurance Entities
• Hardware and Supply Stores
• Critical Trades
• Mail, Post, Shipping, Logistics, Delivery, and Pick-up Services
• Educational Institutions
• Laundry Services
• Restaurants for Off-Premises Consumption
• Supplies to Work from Home
• Supplies for Essential Businesses and Operations
• Transportation
• Home-based Care and Services
• Residential Facilities and Shelters
• Professional Services
• Manufacturing, Distribution and Supply Chain for Critical Products and Industries
• Hotels and Motels
• Funeral Services

Tennessee races to increase hospital beds ahead of expected COVID-19 surge

FEMA approved Tennessee’s COVID-19 major disaster declaration today. This accelerates efforts to work with the US Army Corps of Engineers and expand statewide capacity by an additional 7,000 beds to meet what officials say is an expected surge of COVID-19 cases by April 20.

Tennessee currently has about 7,800 hospital beds available and anticipates a need for nearly 15,000 at the peak. There are only 625 ICU beds statewide and and a projected need for 2,300.

In Sevier County, LeConte Medical Center is a 79-bed facility with 8 ICU beds. The hospital is part of Covenant Health, which says all facilities have specific surge plans in place in order to accommodate patients in case the number of COVID-19 cases rise significantly in the community.

The state and Army Corps of Engineers are assessing sites across Tennessee to increase bed capacity and create Alternate Healthcare Facilities. The Knoxville Expo Center, which will also serve as a COVID positive Non-Acute Alternate Healthcare facility, is currently the only facility announced for east Tennessee. Others planned across the state include:

• The Music City Center in downtown Nashville will be transformed into a COVID Positive Non-Acute Alternate Healthcare Facility. It will serve COVID patients who need hospital care, but do not require critical care. The current plan for the Music City Center is to provide more than 1600 Patient Care Spaces.
• In Memphis, the Corps will be constructing a COVID positive Non-Acute Alternate Healthcare facility at Gateway Shopping Center. Additional sites in Memphis are being actively assessed to ensure capacity in this hotspot is built up quickly and efficiently.
• Chattanooga Convention Center will also serve as a COVID positive Non-Acute Alternate Healthcare facility