NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Nashville will remain in Phase Two of the virus reopening plan as Davidson County has seen cases of COVID-19 "rising at an alarming rate," according to health officials and lawmakers, WSMV-TV reports.
The Metro Public Health Department announced there are 15,473 cases - 15,456 confirmed - of COVID-19 in Davidson County. This was an increase of 771 total cases in the past 24 hours.
There have been two new confirmed deaths reported. A total of 140 people have died after a confirmed case of COVID-19.
Knox County also has seen a rise in deaths this month, going from 5 to 14 as of Tuesday.
With 771 new COVID cases in Nashville on Tuesday, there are 111 cases per 100,000 residents. That’s higher than Florida, which has 71 per 100,000, according to Mayor John Cooper.
"One out of every 5 Nashvillians gets COVID," Cooper said.
He added that "all age groups below 25 have seen an increase in cases" and "survival of the disease is not guaranteed."
"Nashville is a city that provides so much, so restricting travel is not on the table. That's why more response is needed," said Dr. Alex Jahangir, chair of Metro's Coronavirus Task Force.
“Don't share your air, always wear masks especially in places of the 3 C's: closed spaces, crowded places and close contact,” Cooper said.
Jahangir discussed the possibility of the Music City going back to Phase One of the reopening plan.
"Modified Phase Two with bars and restaurants is what we did in Phase One. We can make more strategic approaches and target the areas where we're seeing this spread," Jahangir said.
Jahangir said there have 2,031 new cases since Metro's update last Thursday. The good news is 65% of residents have recovered and the mortality rate for city is 1%.
"Message to the non-maskers: cases are on the rise. We are staying in phase 2 for the foreseeable future. Masks help slow the spread. If those facts don't convince you, think about the economy. The faster we do this, the faster we get our economy back open," Jahangir said. "This isn't about politics, young or old, it's about our health and future.
"Again what helps is wearing masks."