MEMPHIS, Tennessee — Wednesday, only a camera from Local 24 News was there. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee exclusively offered new reaction to COVID challenges gripping Shelby County and Tennessee. It came the same day Shelby County set a new one-day record high of new reported COVID cases, following record highs of COVID hospitalizations set in our area in recent weeks.
"The surge we are seeing is significant and our health care providers, our hospitals are working hard to serve the need of Tennesseans," Gov. Lee said. "The real answer to this is vaccinations, it is the best tool we have and the most significant tool we have to solve the pandemic that's upon us."
Local 24 News caught up with Gov. Lee exclusively after he visited with recent graduates at the Memphis Excel Center, which assists previous high school dropouts to re-enroll in school, get their diplomas and enter the workforce. The governor said at this point his administration is not considering allowing district wide virtual school options but plans to continue the policy of the state responding to waivers on a school by school basis if there are enough students and staff sick with COVID. With around 40% of active COVID cases now pediatric in Shelby County, Gov. Lee responded to the issue more broadly.
"It is certainly a challenge we have and we tell parents every day 'send your child to school with a mask, make sure if you want your child protected from COVID', you need to do that and if your children are 12 and over they can get vaccinated," Gov. Lee added. "It's going to be a tough two weeks."
Gov. Lee recently signed an executive order allowing parents to opt out their children out of any Tennessee school district with a mask mandate. Some Memphis area parents challenged that in court and last Friday, a federal judge blocked the executive order in Shelby County in a temporary restraining order. That order expires next Friday and the proceedings are expected to pick up again Thursday in federal court in Memphis. Gov. Lee declined comment on that ruling but addressed the current COVID issues in the Volunteer State.
"People need to know we are in a really difficult spot, people need to make the kind of personal decisions that they make to get this state through this pandemic," Gov. Lee said. "We've watched state after state lead the country in their case counts, right now, that's Tennessee."
Gov. Lee pointed to his administration's recent actions to address strained hospitals, including deploying Tennessee National Guard members and covering the costs of bringing in outside medical staffing.