Gov. Bill Lee is planning to deliver a speech to the state Sunday night amid a surge in COVID-19 infections.
The rare address from a Tennessee governor will come a day after it was announced that First Lady Maria Lee had tested positive for COVID-19. It also comes during a week when the state has been recording about 10,000 new positive cases per day and intensive-care units reach maximum capacity.
And it comes amid deep divisions over measures meant to fight COVID-19, such as mask wearing. A recent poll by Vanderbilt University found that more than one in five Tennessee Republicans do not wear masks while in public.
Lee has also warned in recent days against large, private gatherings as Christmas and New Year’s Eve approach.
“The holidays have caught up with us,” he said Thursday at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where clinicians administered the first inoculations against COVID-19. “One thing this vaccine will not solve, one thing that it will not cure is selfishness or indifference to what’s happening to our neighbors around us.
“This vaccine will not cure foolish decisions about how we gather. It won’t cure an attitude of a refusal to wear a mask. And it won’t cure the idea that I will take my chances and that will not affect someone’s life.”
Lee will speak at 7 p.m. CST. His remarks will be broadcast on 90.3 WPLN News, Facebook and YouTube.
This story was updated at 6:30 p.m. to include the announcement that First Lady Maria Lee has tested positive for COVID-19.
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