Tennessee Governor Resists Mask Mandate in State with Increasing New Covid-19 Case Rate

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In recent days, the novel coronavirus has made the first lady of the state sick, sending Governor Bill Lee into an extended quarantine. The virus also tore the University of Tennessee football team apart, infecting coach Jeremy Pruitt and abruptly ending the team’s season.

People with severe Covid-19 have put critical pressure on hospitals, but there are no plans to open a field hospital – because there are not enough health care staff to support one.

In a video address on Sunday night, Governor Lee acknowledged that Tennessee “is the zero point for an increase in the disease.”

No state has more new cases than California, but adjusted for population, the outbreak in Tennessee is worse. In the last week, Tennessee has recorded an average of about 9,300 new cases of coronavirus per day, the fifth in all states in the country, despite having the 16th largest population. The daily number of new cases is even higher than Pennsylvania, which has almost twice as many people.
Coronavirus infections and deaths rise in the direction of the Christmas week and

The sharp rise in new cases in Tennessee began in early November and was exacerbated by Thanksgiving rallies, state officials said.

Tennessee Health Commissioner Dr. Lisa Piercey said active cases had risen by two-thirds in the past week. She said she was worried that an additional increase during the holidays “would completely break our hospitals”.

In his video address, Lee begged people to avoid indoor meetings with anyone outside their household for the holidays.

“We saw firsthand that Thanksgiving rallies and extended time inside were the main driver in spreading Covid-19 like wildfire,” he said. “It only took a few days to see the Thanksgiving Day gatherings translate into a record level of illness. Tennessee can’t stand a similar increase after Christmas or New Year.”

But no mask warrant

Fans wearing face masks and front covers enter the racetrack ahead of the NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on July 15, 2020 in Bristol, Tennessee.
Despite urgent warnings, Governor Lee, a former Republican-elected businessman in 2018, resisted aggressive actions favored by other states, including New York or California, and instead adopted an approach similar to that of North or South Dakota. most cases per capita in the pandemic.

Crucially, Lee refused to issue a mask warrant, leaving the decision to local officials.

“Many believe that a statewide mandate would improve the wearing of the mask, many believe it would have the opposite effect,” he said on Sunday. “This has been a heavily politicized issue. Please don’t get caught up in this and misunderstand my belief in local government on this issue. Masks work and I want every Tennessean to wear one.”

The CDC says the masks protect others as well as the wearer, and the White House coronavirus workforce has been urging states for months to ask everyone to wear a mask.
These GOP governors have long resisted masked mandates and coronavirus rules. Now their states are in crisis.

Lee’s executive order also limited indoor gatherings to 10 people – but excluded churches, weddings and funerals, intimate gatherings that are ripe for the spread of Covid-19.

His refusal to take more aggressive action frustrated and annoyed Protect My Care, a coalition of health workers who had been demanding a state-wide mask mandate for months.

“Governor Lee, this is not the time for half measures, gaps or symbolic gestures. We need action. We need concrete measures to control the virus. We need you to find the political courage to do your part and make yourself get up, “said Dr. Aaron Milstone, a critical care pulmonologist, according to CNN affiliate WTVC.
State Sen. Jeff Yarbro, a Democrat and minority leader in the Tennessee Senate, mocked Lee’s order as “executive suggestion“But other Republican state leaders have supported Lee’s more limited approach.

However, Lee previously acknowledged that many people resisted wearing a mask despite his pleas. Last week, talking about the coronavirus vaccine, he harshly criticized those who refused to wear masks as selfish.

“One thing this vaccine will not solve, one thing it will not cure is selfishness or indifference to what is happening to our neighbors around us,” he said.

“This vaccine will not cure stupid decisions about how we gather. It will not cure an attitude of refusal to wear a mask. And it will not cure the idea that I will take a risk and that it will not affect someone else’s life. . “

CNN’s David Close, Raja Razek and Carma Hassan contributed to this report.

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