Nashville, TN (May 07, 2020) – Mayor John Cooper announced today that the city would begin phase one of reopening the economy by allowing restaurants and stores to reopen at half-capacity on Monday, May 11.
During phase one gatherings of 10 or more people will still be prohibited and Nashvillians will be asked to wear masks in public and to remain in their homes as much as possible.
If improvements continue for 14 days in phase one, a second phase with additional loosened restrictions will be begin. The full plan to reopen Nashville will be an eight week period.
Nashville has received a “passing grade” for controlling COVID-19 but the outbreak is far from defeated according to Mayor Cooper. “The goal is to get us gently back to work while managing the presence of the disease in our community.” Copper continued, “we are not an island. People have to get back to work. And we have to provide a path to do that safely.”
Nearly all of Tennessee’s other counties began to reopen at the end of April. May Copper explained that due to its position within the regional and state economy Nashville’s reopening was “critical to the region.”
