Facial coverings required inside

NASHVILLE — Visitors entering Tennessee’s 95 county courthouses on court-related business will be required to wear facial coverings under a state Supreme Court COVID19 order taking effect Tuesday.

“The recent uptick in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths required the court to reconsider how to best keep the public, court staff and judiciary safe while keeping courts as open and accessible as possible,” Chief Justice Jeff Bivins stated in a news release.

The order does not change the Supreme Court’s easing of previously issued directives. These included allowing for in-person court proceedings, permitting jury trials to resume after July 3 and letting judicial districts continue operating under their approved plans. The latest directive only adds the statewide facial mask requirement. It continues until further notice.

Numbers from the Tennessee Health Department show the state’s trend in new COVID-19 infections is on the rise. Wednesday saw a record of more than 2,500 new cases, and the number of cases statewide exceeds 60,000 since Tennessee’s first reported case on March 5. Hospitalizations are rising as well in a number of counties.

Supreme Court officials say the mask requirement “is consistent with directives” from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the state health department and orders issued by some Tennessee county mayors, including in Hamilton County.

Face masks must cover over the nose and mouth and are worn “at all times while inside the building,” the order says.

The court’s order does make some exceptions to the mask rule.

› Children under 13 are not required to wear a face covering. Parents or caregivers “shall supervise the use of face coverings by children to avoid misuse,” the court’s order says.

› Persons who have trouble breathing due to an underlying health condition or who have another “bona fide medical or health-related reason” are not required to wear a face covering.

› Face coverings are not required in situations in which the a mask “poses a safety or security risk.”

The order applies statewide to all courts and court clerks’ offices except administrative courts within the executive branch and federal courts and federal court clerks’ offices located in Tennessee.

Judges should work with local law enforcement and other county officials “to ensure that, to the extent possible, courthouses remain accessible to carry out essential constitutional functions and timesensitive proceedings,” the order says.