With COVID-19 cases spiking in Nashville and across the state, the Metro Board of Health voted to mandate face masks beginning at 5 pm on Sunday, June 28th. The unanimous vote came during an emergency meeting late Friday afternoon.
As of Sunday afternoon, Nashville had confirmed 9,348 cases of COVID-19, an increase of 122 cases in 24 hours, with 2,487 of those being active cases. The number of deaths surpassed 100 as we moved into the weekend. On Sunday, the official death count in Nashville was 106. Nearly 90,000 tests have been given with a 10.4% positive rate.
Details on the mask mandate were to be released by Sunday afternoon. We'll provide updates as we receive them.
Jeff Balser, MD, PhD, president and CEO of Vanderbilt University Medical Center and dean of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, offered the following statement on the decision to require face masks:
"Nashville and Tennessee are at a critical point as Tennessee recorded its highest ever count of new infections for the COVID-19 virus on Friday, with new cases increasing steadily in Davidson County. Vanderbilt University Medical Center supports the Nashville Board of Health's masking mandate as an important step to improve control over the spread of the virus. Wearing a mask, diligent hand hygiene and physical distancing are still our best tools to battle the spread of the virus. The early and decisive action by the Board of Health and Mayor Cooper to issue this mandate will help prevent our local hospitals from experiencing the high caseloads we are seeing in the South in areas of Alabama, Florida, and Texas, help us keep our economy open, and save lives."