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Nashville Holds At Phase 2 Of Reopening, Citing Uptick In COVID Cases

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Alex Jahanagir
Courtesy Metro Nashville Network
Alex Jahangir is the chairman of the Metro Nashville Coronavirus Task Force.
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Nashville is staying in Phase 2 of reopening after seeing cases of the coronavirus trend upward, officials said Monday.  

Alex Jahangir, chairman of Metro Nashville’s Board of Health, said the decision to pause re-opening was not taken lightly.  

“This doesn’t mean that we’re regressing. It doesn’t mean we’re going back to Phase 1. It just means we’re staying at status quo for just a little bit longer,” he said during a press conference Monday.  

Officials will be watching the data from the next few days to see whether the numbers stabilize. Over the weekend there was a continued rise in cases, with 132 new cases reported Saturday and 124 on Sunday. But Monday saw a smaller increase, with 98.  

Jahangir said the transmission rate is still less than one and the number of hospital and ICU beds remain “adequate.”  

Nashville has been in Phase 2 for 14 days. It’s not clear when the city will enter Phase 3 of reopening. Statewide, there are more active cases of the coronavirus right now than at any other point in the pandemic. 

Meribah Knight, Senior Reporter/Producer of Special Projects

Meribah Knight is a senior reporter and producer at Nashville Public Radio. She’s the host and creator of the Peabody Award-winning podcast, The Promise as well as Serial’s recent podcast The Kids of Rutherford County.

Her reporting on race and inequality in public schools prompted a wholesale shift in enrollment and attitudes toward school choice in one Nashville neighborhood. And her reporting on the juvenile justice system in Rutherford County, Tenn., led to the retirement of its juvenile judge and new oversight of its juvenile detention center.

Knight has received numerous national awards for her reporting, including the George Foster Peabody Award and the George Polk Award. Knight was also a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, the Goldsmith Award, and twice a finalist for a National Magazine Award. Knight received her master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University.

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