by Vivian Jones
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has signed an executive order that permits contact and noncontact sports in the state, extends the authority of local governments to mandate face coverings, and extends liability protections for health care providers.
No sports are now prohibited in Tennessee, as long as participants follow safety guidelines from their governing bodies or Tennessee Pledge COVID-19 safety guidelines.
“Athletics is an important part of our way of life and provides many benefits for our student-athletes, but common-sense precautions must be taken to combat COVID-19,” Lee said in a statement Friday. “We have worked directly with the [Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association] to coordinate a framework so that football season and soccer seasons can begin while keeping student-athletes, staff, and fans safe.”
A previous executive order that allowed local governments to mandate masks would have expired Monday. The new order extends that power through Aug. 29.
“This order will also continue to give local governments the authority to determine mask requirements for their respective constituencies,” Lee said. “Adopting mask requirements at the local level has helped achieve greater community buy-in as Tennesseans adopt a new habit to protect lives and livelihoods.”
The order also strongly encourages schools in Tennessee to require staff and students to wear face coverings.
Liability protections granted for health care providers in a previous executive order are also extended through the end of the month.
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Vivian Jones reports on Tennessee and South Carolina for The Center Square. Her writing has appeared in the Detroit News, The Hill, and publications of The Heartland Institute.
What a weak weak weak person Bill Lee is. He’s so pitiful, he can’t even lead from behind.
Of course it is BS and we all know it. Dirt racing fans by the thousands have been enjoying events since Memorial Day weekend in MaskFreeTennessee. No mass graves, no refrigerated trucks, no overrun hospitals.
The mask Nazis should go nuts with this latest directive. Their do-nothing masks are only effective, at most, at stopping water droplets from infected people coughing or sneezing. They are useless for all asymptomatic people. How will they let Johnny play contact ball, getting hot and sweaty “close contact”, sharing bathing facilities, water/Gatorade coolers while at the same time telling you the virus is now “airborne” so you need goggles? Good move Governor Lee. Pass the buck so these county/city level mask Nazis have to either eat crow and admit the Coronahoax or dare to cancel UT football.
Just goes to show what a hoax this all is. Talk about tyranny…You can go grabass a leather ball around the field, but the authorities can cram their mask garbage down your throat at will. Time to buck the system folks. Europe is in the streets against this tyranny. Why do we continue to be docile subservant sheep? End this farce now!