Re-opening Tennessee without a strategy risks lives, economic recovery, Senate Dems say

NASHVILLE — Gov. Bill Lee is risking Tennessee lives and a faster economic recovery by lifting safegaurds on large portions of the state without a strategy in place to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Senate Democrats.

The Senate Democratic Caucus released a statement Monday following Lee’s announcement:

The worst time to cut your parachute loose is a thousand feet above land. Re-opening the economy across the state on a week’s notice is taking risks with people’s lives and could undermine the economic recovery we all need.

This re-opening is being launched without a strategy announced, much less implemented.

If Gov. Bill Lee is going to start eliminating safeguards that have kept most Tennesseans safe through this COVID-19 pandemic, he better make sure our hospitals and health care supply chains are ready to absorb any potential impact.

Sadly, this decision seems motivated more by a date on the calendar, than by medical experts and data. Every single day in April, there have been at least 160 new cases, and, right now, fewer than 2 percent of the people in our state have received a COVID-19 test.

We all want to reopen the economy, but Gov. Lee’s announcement is missing key details about how he would guarantee the health and safety of the workers and people of our state.

To reopen safely without wiping away the progress we’ve made over the last month, Tennessee needs a detailed test and trace strategy and a plan to protect vulnerable populations such as those in nursing homes. But the news today, of over 150 positive cases in one prison, demonstrates no such plan is in place.

The state has neither given guidance to all the various sectors of the economy about the steps necessary to keep employees and customers safe nor provided any assurances that every worker who needs protective gear will get it.

If we truly want to get the economy rebooted as soon as possible, it’s essential to give people confidence that there is a real plan to keep them safe. Today’s announcement from Gov. Lee fell far short of providing that confidence.