Tennessee plans self-enforcement of restart

Gov. Bill Lee on Friday released more details about how restaurants and retail stores across most of Tennessee should reopen next week to help prevent the spread of covid-19, while acknowledging the state will not enforce such measures to ensure implementation.

The Republican governor argued that businesses and consumers will be in charge of ensuring that the state’s new recommendations, dubbed the “Tennessee Pledge,” are practiced.

“We think that the consumers will enforce them, the business community itself will enforce them, the industry groups that have influence and impact and developed guidelines for industries, that’s how this is going to be enforced,” Lee told reporters.

Tennessee unveiled the new guidelines the same day as some businesses began slowly reopening in Georgia. Yet several public health experts have warned that reopening a state too soon could result in a new surge in coronavirus infections.

In metro Atlanta, the Three-13 Salon, Spa & Boutique opened to a line of masked customers whose temperature was checked before entering.

Managing partner Lester Crowell said there was some nervousness and anxiety among salon employees. “But you know, we all want to come back to work,” he said.

With deaths and infections

still rising in Georgia, many business owners planned to remain closed despite Gov. Brian Kemp’s assurance that hospital visits and new cases have leveled off enough for barbers, tattoo artists, massage therapists and personal trainers to return to work with restrictions.

Information for this article was contributed by Russ Bynum, Adrian Sainz, Kate Brumback, Jeff Amy, Sudhin Thanawala, Mike Stewart, Ron Harris and Jay Reeves of The Associated Press.