As the state begins to ease coronavirus restrictions this week, Nashville officials are urging residents to continue to stay home if they can.
Dr. James Hildreth, president of Meharry Medical College, said at the mayor’s press conference on Tuesday that he worries reopening too soon in other parts of the state could impact Nashville. He said, “Viruses do not respect borders,” and can spread if people travel outside Davidson County.
“My advice for everybody is, you take responsibility for your personal protection,” Hildreth said. “If you go into a business, and you don’t feel comfortable that they’ve done the things that they need to do to keep you safe, then you have a decision to make.”
Gov. Bill Lee signed an executive order last week allowing restaurants in all but six of the state’s most populous counties to reopen at 50% capacity yesterday. Retail stores will be allowed to open on Wednesday.
Because Nashville has its own health department, it’s allowed to take a slower approach to reopening than many other parts of the state. Hildreth warned Nashville residents to continue to take the virus seriously, even as the economy starts to reboot.
Hildreth advised them to stay home as much as possible, and if they do go out, they should continue to take steps like washing their hands and not touching their faces. He added people shouldn’t expect the coronavirus to lose strength once the weather gets warmer, as typically happens with flu viruses, because it’s continued to spread in parts of the world that are already experiencing warm temperatures.
And he added that new findings have also challenged earlier myths that young, healthy people can’t get seriously ill.
“Some of you still seem to believe that if you’re young and healthy, you shouldn’t worry about the virus,” Hildreth said.
He said people in their 30s, 40s and 50s who didn’t even seem sick have died from blood-clotting issues and strokes caused by the virus, as reported last week by the Washington Post.
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