New reports on the Williamson County man diagnosed with the coronavirus indicate he flew home from Boston, and has a child attending Battle Ground Academy.
Gov. Bill Lee on Thursday announced Tennessee’s first case of coronavirus — a 44-year-old man from Williamson County, The Tennessee Star reported. He has been quarantined with his family at his home.
Lee tweeted, “This morning, our @TNDeptofHealth confirmed a case of COVID-19 in Tennessee. We are in close communication with our state, local, and federal partners to remain prepared, reduce the spread of infection, and keep Tennesseans informed.”
This morning, our @TNDeptofHealth confirmed a case of COVID-19 in Tennessee. We are in close communication with our state, local, and federal partners to remain prepared, reduce the spread of infection, and keep Tennesseans informed.
Learn more: https://t.co/7qZY2O2D1t
— Gov. Bill Lee (@GovBillLee) March 5, 2020
The man traveled on a flight from Nashville International Airport to Logan Airport and back, WBUR reported. The Boston Public Health Commission is working with the Tennessee Department of Health to learn more about him, such as the length of his stay in Massachusetts and where he went.
Authorities did not say on which flight he traveled. He did not develop symptoms until returning home. Three patients in Massachusetts have been diagnosed with the disease.
The Battle Ground Academy said the patient is a parent of one of their students, and it and the Williamson County School (WCS) District will be closed for the remainder of the week, NewsChannel 5 reported. WCS will be closed on Monday for a deep clean, the Williamson Herald said.
One infectious disease expert told NewsChannel 5 the man did the right thing.
The man called his doctor to say he felt ill instead of going to the physician’s office or a hospital and thus infecting other people, Dr. William Schaffner from Vanderbilt University said. International travelers are being given that advice. Furthermore, Schaffner said he is hopeful that since this man did not have much contact with people in Tennessee, this case may have been contained.
In other developments, on Wednesday Gov. Lee announced the formation of a Coronavirus Task Force to enhance Tennessee’s coordinated efforts to prevent, identify, and treat potential cases of COVID-19, the designation of the deadly strain of coronavirus.
“As confirmed cases of the coronavirus spread across the country, it is important that Tennessee remains prepared,” said Gov. Lee. “To help us be even better prepared, this group of experts will work closely with me and my administration, along with local, state, and federal agencies as we continue to monitor any potential developments. I appreciate their willingness to serve our state.”
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Jason M. Reynolds has more than 20 years’ experience as a journalist at outlets of all sizes.
Photo “Battle Ground Academy” by ProhibitOnions. CC BY-SA 3.0.
When are we going to quarantine all those Amazon Chinese imports before bringing them into TN? What about their current inventory?
If it was raw milk or Amish cheese, the dept. of health would be kicking the doors down, stealing their property and issuing demonizing press releases.
You may be contagious before you get sick, but they are not notifying the passengers on the plane, nor telling us where else this person may have been before he got sick. Stupid government protocols are totally inconsistent with what they are telling us.
Don’t look over there (southern border), look over here (airplane or cruise ship).
If there is anything good about CV, it is that NGO bus drivers that whisk IAs to the interior where they disappear, CARTELs who provide rent a child to IAs to initially cross the border and charge their victims tremendous sums, also the “lawyers without borders” making larger sums, the polyannas like Billy Lee that sponsor or run the resettlement efforts, the mexican federalis, are all beginning to get scared. They do not want to get sick and maybe die while running their nefarious, misguided, and unethical, if not illegal, enterprises. Where are all the Dems getting photo-ops at the border? You do not seem them in the news anymore.
–CCW