Twenty-three Tennesseans with COVID-19 have died as the number of COVID-19 cases has surpassed 2,000, Gov. Bill Lee said during his daily media briefing Tuesday. Lee’s non-mandated, 14-day Safer At Home executive order begins at midnight.
According to the Tennessee Department of Health, there are 2,239 COVID-19 cases in Tennessee and there were 175 hospitalizations as of 2 p.m. Tuesday.
“I want to speak to Tennesseans who have the privilege and capacity to safely stay home for the next two weeks,” Lee said at the beginning of his briefing. “We need you to do that, we need you to head this call for you to say home for the next two weeks. Lives are depending on it. Livelihoods are depending on it. Our healthcare workers lives, the elderly’s lives, the lives of your neighbors in TN are depending on your efforts to change your behavior, like we all are, to stay apart, to stay safe, and to stay safe. Your habits and routine will make a difference.”
Lee said in the coming days, the TN Dept. of Health will begin to include totals of negative results, deaths and recoveries from COVID-19 by county.
NewsChannel 5 is reporting that the total of COVID-19 cases in the state is currently at 2,389 and that there have been 13 COVID-19 deaths.
The news station is keeping an independent count of cases in the state, using information from both the TN Dept. of Health and local health agencies.
Lee said there are personal protective equipment shipments heading to every county in Tennessee for healthcare workers.
According to Lee’s COVID-19’s Bulletin, “25 companies and universities have made significant donations of personal protective equipment (PPE) to the State of Tennessee to assist health care workers and those on the front lines.”
Those donations, in conjunction with the aggressive supply procurement of the COVID-19 Unified-Command, have enabled Lee’s administration to connect with all 95 Tennessee counties, assess needs and mobilize supplies.
The bulletin said “companies and non-profits who are ready to help with supplies and other innovations are urged to contact Launch Tennessee… The Unified Command’s partnership with Launch Tennessee has already netted 100 companies who are willing to get to work in fighting this pandemic.”
Lee also spoke about mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic and asked those who need help to reach out. He said there were eight suicides in Knox County last Friday.
If you are suffering from a mental crisis, you can call 1-855-CRISIS1 (1-855-274-7471) and you will be routed to a trained crisis specialist in your area.