By now, we know Dr. Deborah Birx included Nashville on a phone call of 11 cities that needed to deploy 'aggressive' action to flatten the coronavirus curve in the midst of growing cases of COVID-19. She also met with Governor Bill Lee in Tennessee yesterday where she said everyone in the state should wear a mask and that bars should be shut down to slow the spread, noting Tennessee has moved from the 'yellow' to the 'red' in terms of positivity rates for the virus. She noted that now is a critical time to make changes to change the trajectory of the virus in the state. Although Birx categorized her meeting with Lee as "productive," the governor has declined to impose a statewide mask mandate or to broadly order bars to shut down. Unlike Georgia, however, the governor has not tried to hamper individual mayors and counties from imposing such rules. In Nashville, a mask mandate, closed bars (at least through the end of July) and restrictions on alcohol sales are all in effect.
Metro Nashville
Today, Nashville reported 20,517 confirmed cases of COVID-19, an increase of 363 cases in the last 24 hours. There are currently 5,341 active cases in Nashville, 14,987 individuals who have recovered and 184 active hospitalizations. With 189 deaths, the city has a case fatality rate of 0.92%.
In Davidson County, 164,465 tests have been administered with a positive rate of 12.5% (up from 10.7% on July 1 and 9.4% on June 1). Of note, the 7-day average for positive tests is 13.3% down from 14.3% last Friday.
On the trend lines, the 14-day new case trend has returned to yellow from red, and the transmission rate has moved back into the green from yellow. Stabilization of the 14-day case rate helped the trend line move back to yellow. The goal for transmission is to be at less than 1.0. As of 9:30 am this morning, Nashville had a transmission rate of 0.99. Hospital bed capacity for both floor and ICU beds remains in the yellow. The goal for each is to be at 20% availability or better. Currently, there is 18% floor bed capacity available and 12% for ICU beds. The other two capacity metrics - public health and testing - remain in the green.
More detailed data is available on the Metro Dashboard. Click here for details.
Masks are required in Nashville, and a number of other surrounding counties have also begun instituting mandatory mask regulations. Additionally, public health officials continue to ask (beg) residents to be vigilant in maintaining social distancing measures, as well as to go out as little as possible, wash hands frequently and stay home if ill. Metro police are authorized to issue civil citations to those who fail to comply with the mask mandate unless the individual has a specific exemption.
Donate to the Greater Nashville COVID-19 Response Fund
Earlier this week, the United Way of Greater Nashville released the following statement from Brian Hassett, president and CEO of the organization. "We're all tired. This has gone on longer and affected many more people than any of could have anticipated. But we're not giving up. As long as there are people in need ... people in our community who are suffering from the effects of this virus, United Way will be here," Brian Hassett, president and CEO of United Way of Greater Nashville, said in a news release. "We're going to continue to work hard every day to bridge the gaps and to support our nonprofit partners and our neighbors to make sure we all make it through this together. But to do that, we need a lot more funding. We need a lot more of our local businesses, corporations and private foundations to step up and help our community weather this storm."
Approximately $160,000 of the $5.06 million fund remains. For information on how the funds have been used, please go to www.nashvilleresponsefund.com. To donate, please go to www.unitedwaynashville.org/donate.
Tennessee State
State numbers will be updated later this afternoon. Governor Lee is expected to outline his plans for reopening schools in an afternoon press conference, as well.
Update 3:15 pm: As of Tuesday afternoon, July 28, the Tennessee Department of Health is experiencing a technical disruption that has delayed release of some of the daily data points. However, TDH does report the state now has a total of 99,044 cases as of this afternoon, which is an increase of 2,555 cases since yesterday. We will provide other updated figures when they become available, as well as highlights of the governor's comments on reopening schools.
Update 4:30 pm: At 4 pm Central, Governor Bill Lee addressed the media and state with an update on school recommendations. Citing a considerable body of evidence that shows the harm children suffer when away from school and in-person learning, and referencing the recommendations of the CDC and American Academy of Pediatrics, the governor called on schools across the state to open for in-person education and to do so on time with exceptions only in the most concerning instances. Holding school in a virtual, in-person or hybrid format is up to individual districts.
The governor noted that in addition to falling behind academically, children suffer from social and physical deficits when not in school. He added, low income children are at highest risk of harm, including not having access to school meals. He added it would be difficult to come up with a plan that works well and that districts might feel like throwing in the towel after a seback. However, he stated, "We have to remember this generation of children who need us to show up on their behalf at this crucial time."
Tennessee Department of Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn echoed the governor in terms of getting children back in classrooms this fall. She said there has been a 27% drop in reports of suspected child abuse since children have been out of school, children have missed millions of meals, and thousands have missed in-school mental health supports they need. "No matter what happens in individual districts, it is critical to provide these supports," she said.
Schwinn outlined resources and tools being provided to both school districts and parents to help prepare students for a return to school. "This year is going to look different," she stated. Schwinn added the academic losses that typically occur over the summer have been exacerbated by prolonged absence from in-person learning. She said the Start of the Year Checkpoint assessment will be critical to help parents and teachers understand where deficits might be for each child.
In addition to rolling out reopening guidance on their website (available here), Schwinn said technology improvements are on the way to help students connect and engage both remotely and in the classroom. "The governor has committed $50 million in technology grants," she noted, adding that would provide 250,000 new devices across the state.
Pushed on potential dangers to reopening for students, teachers and staff, Governor Lee said the minuses outweigh the pluses to remote learning, and therefore districts should find a way to safely return to the classroom.