Federal
Sen. Lamar Alexander, chair of the U.S. Senate HELP Committee, announced he is self-quarantining in Tennessee after a staffer tested positive for COVID-19. The senator isn't showing symptoms and tested negative for the virus last week. He had already announced tomorrow's hearing, "COVID-19: Safely Getting Back to Work & Back to School" would be held via videoconference as several of the key public health witnesses are self-quarantining, as well, following possible exposure to the virus.
Metro Nashville
Nashville begins to reopen today with restaurants and retailers allowing in person dining and shopping at 50% capacity. Mayor Cooper has said all Nashvillians should wear masks in public. Governor Lee has suggested the same.
Today's roundup of metrics has Nashville reporting 3,669 confirmed cases, an increase of 47 cases in 24 hours. The number of deaths remains at 35 in Davidson County with no new deaths reported. During the Thursday briefing, it was reported 1,901 Nashvillians have recovered from COVID-19 with 1,763 cases still active. There have been 37,724 tests administered in Nashville with a positive rate of 9.8% (3,669 positives & 34,025 negatives).
Tennessee State
State numbers will be updated for Monday this afternoon. As of yesterday, the Tennessee Department of Health has confirmed 14,985 cases of COVID-19, an increase of 217 between Saturday and Sunday). The number of deaths has risen to 243. There are 1,325 hospitalizations across Tennessee (up 6 in 24 hours) and 7,528 recovered (an increase of 159 in 24 hours). Currently, the state's known hospitalization rate is 9% of confirmed cases. Deaths continue to total right about 1.7 percent of reported cases.