Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon has named four to a TN Major Metros Economic Restart Task Force to work on reopening the state’s businesses. Full release: TN Metro Economic Restart Task Force
Kincannon chose:
- Kathy Brown, University of Tennessee at Knoxville
- Dave Miller, First Horizon Bank
- Mike Odom, Knoxville Chamber of Commerce
- Ryan Steffy, SoKno Taco Restaurant
Lee: Keep schools closed; open virus test sites
Gov. Bill Lee’s daily press conferences can be viewed live Monday through Thursday at 4 p.m. EDT here. Gov. Lee has also established a website specific to COVID-19 updates which can be found here.
On Wednesday, Lee called on schools to remain closed through the end of the school year. He asked Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn to convene a child wellbeing task force to engage communities and provide support for students.
Gov. Bill Lee
Lee has directed the Unified-Command group to rapidly expand Tennessee’s COVID-19 testing capacity to enable more Tennesseans to have improved access and make informed health decisions.
The expanded testing effort launches this weekend, April 18-19, with the Tennessee National Guard establishing 15 drive-through testing sites across the state. Drive-through testing sites will also be available during the weekends of April 25-26 and May 2-3. A full list of sites is available here, and additional information is available here.
Results should be delivered to participants within 72 hours of testing. In addition to drive-through testing sites, Tennesseans can get a test free of charge, five days a week at every rural county health department in the state.
“Every Tennessean who isn’t feeling well – even outside of the traditional COVID-19 symptoms of cough, fever or difficulty breathing – should get tested,” Lee said.
On Tuesday, Lee extended his stay-at-home order through April 30.
More
Knox County updates a COVID-19 case count website daily at 11 a.m. Media briefings are three days a week (Monday, Wednesday and Friday) at 12:30 p.m. and live-streamed on Facebook.
Senior Services: Mobile Meals added 30 additional clients last week and served 7,250 meals; Mobile Meals is doing 1,100 Wellness Check phone calls each day and working to address needs.
Knox County libraries are closed, but online service continue. Check here for details. on .
Medicare patients can get current information at Medicare and Coronavirus
U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn has released a comprehensive COVID-19 guide. Click here.
All areas of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, excluding the Foothills Parkway and the Spur, are closed until further notice. This includes trail and road closures. Details are here.
Health Department Hotline: 865-215-5555
National Suicide Prevention Hotline: 1-800-273-8255
Info updated as it becomes available.