Following Dr. Deborah Birx recent visit to Tennessee and plea for the state to take more aggressive actions, the U.S. House of Representatives Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis has called upon Governor Bill Lee and state officials to provide information on recommendations received from the White House and details on the steps taken to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in Tennessee, as well as future plans to address the growing crisis.

Similar letters were sent to three other governors - Georgia, Florida and Oklahoma. All four chief executives are Republicans, a fact that was decried by subcommittee member Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.) who called the demand for information partisan in nature. However, Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.), who serves as chair of the subcommittee, outlined a failure to heed White House recommendations as the impetus for letters sent to states that have been declared hot zones. In Tennessee, according to the letter, the state has failed to follow at least five different recommendations from the White House Coronavirus Task Force.

A deadline of Aug. 12 was set for the four states to reply.

Metro Nashville

After missing yesterday's data update due to a technical glitch, Nashville reported 20,928 confirmed cases of COVID-19 today, an increase of 411 cases in the last 48 hours. There are currently 4,782 active cases in Nashville, 15,956 individuals who have recovered and 189 active hospitalizations. With 190 deaths, the city has a case fatality rate of 0.91%.

In Davidson County, 167,827 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 13.1% down from 14.3% last Friday.

On the trend lines, the transmission rate is in the green. With a goal for transmission to be less than 1.0, the city has seen a rate of 0.99 for the last several days. The 14-day case rate remains in the yellow and is currently stable. Hospital floor and ICU beds also remain in the yellow. Both have a goal of 20% availability or better. Currently, hospital bed available capacity sits at 16% and ICU bed capacity at 12%. Public health and testing capacity 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.