Shelby County's heath directive No. 17 eases restrictions
By Diana Fedinec
The Shelby County Health Department issued Health Directive No. 17 on Jan. 20, 2021,
easing the restrictions put into place under the previous health directive. The decision
was made because of the declining rate of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in Shelby
County since the holiday surge. The new directive goes into effect on Jan. 23, 2021,
and largely emphasizes personal responsibility.
The following are SCHD highlights of Health Directive No. 17:
- Lifts the more restrictive measures of the “Safer at Home” Health Directive No. 16 and returns to safety measures found in Health Directives 14 and 15.
- Focuses on personal responsibility as the measure of how COVID-19 will ultimately impact Shelby County and surrounding communities.
- Nothing is closed per se. Certain businesses that have more interaction with the public have additional, specific safety measures.
- Organizers/businesses that want to submit a proposal for a specific event or wish to expand their operations in a manner that is not already addressed in the Health Directive, should submit a plan through the online portal: https://apps.shelbycountytn.gov/CovidResponseRequest/.
- Schools are strongly encouraged to suspend all school-related close-contact sports at this time.
The full text of Health Directive No. 17 and FAQs may be viewed at
For more information about Shelby County Health Department’s COVID-19 response, visit http://www.shelbytnhealth.com
For more information about Southwest’s COVID-19 response, visit the College’s Coronavirus website at www.southwest.tn.edu/coronavirus.