Governor Lee recommends secondary schools remain closed

By Sherman Greer

Governor Bill Lee essentially ended the academic school year for Tennessee’s secondary schools when he recommended Wednesday, April 15 that the Department of Education keep schools closed for the rest of the 2019-20 term.

Following the release of an updated COVID-19 model from Vanderbilt University, Lee this past Monday also extended the state’s stay-at-home order through April 30.  Vanderbilt’s latest model predicts Tennessee’s peak to occur in mid-May as social distancing policies seem to be working.

Southwest Tennessee Community College moved all courses online for the spring semester March 23 and offers summer classes online. All campuses remain closed and all college operations are online until further notice.

As of Thursday, April 16, there were 6,262 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Tennessee and 141 Tennesseans had lost the battle with the virus. Tennessee’s Coronavirus Public Information Lines are open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., CDT daily at 833-556-2476 or 877-857-2945.