By Luc Brown
City of Jackson Mayor Scott Conger and Madison County Jimmy Harris both announced Shelter-At-Home executive orders Friday afternoon, minutes after the Jackson Madison County Regional Health Department announced two new cases of the novel coronavirus.
Conger and Harris said it was absolutely necessary for them to issue these orders, which take the place of their previous Safer-At-Home executive orders. The orders go into effect at 12:01 a.m. Sunday, April 5, and last for seven days. The mayors said they will re-visit and renew the order in six days.
Conger said Gov. Lee’s Stay At Home order, issued Thursday, didn’t go far not enough and that the issuing of the orders had to be made by local leaders so there would be consistency and to keep the public safe.
The order said only life-sustaining businesses should remain open and that you should only leave home for essential reasons or services. Conger said violation of the order is a class A misdemeanor, which carries up to a $2,5oo fine and up to 11 months and 29 days in jail.
Conger also announced that evictions are suspended.
You can watch the announcement at the end of this article and read Conger’s executive order here: Executive-Order-2020.06.
The Jackson-Madison County Regional Health Department announced Friday afternoon that it received positive test results for two more confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the county to 22.
The newest patients are a 57-year-old male and 56-year-old female. They were both told to self-isolate at home.
The department’s epidemiology staff are reaching out to people who had contact with the patients.
Find more information about COVID-19 from the Tennessee Department of Health at https://www.tn.gov/health/cedep/ncov. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has updated information and guidance available online at www.cdc.gov/COVID19.