The number of active Covid-19 cases has witnessed a drop in Nashville since the Metro Nashville Public Health Department lifted the mask mandate of the country on 14th May. However, there is no scope for relaxing. The health officials have warned that the next few weeks will be crucial to assess whether the cases will come back or not.
Everyone needs to be watchful with the havoc wrecked by Covid-19 in mind. Dr. Gill Wright, interim Medical Director of the Metro Public Health Department, says, “We’re slowly going actually down in our overall number; we’re hoping that continues.”
Happy Residents Appreciating the Lift
Kelsey Bryson and other residents like her were keen to visit downtown after almost one year of restrictions related to the pandemic.
They wanted to get back to the place they belong to and have some fun time. As Kelsey Bryson says, “We’re from here; we live kind of all over the outskirts of the city of Nashville and we’re excited to come back down and enjoy Nashville.” So, the excitement of the residents is quite palpable.
Further, staying away from the places where the residents belong has been an emotional whirlwind for the residents. It’s great that they are happy!
Positive Effects of Lifting the Mask Mandate
The news of lifting the mask mandate has caused elation among many business owners. They are grateful for the fact that the crowd is returning to the areas like the Gulch after the mandate was lifted. This happiness is quite obvious as the pandemic has already left a deep scar on their businesses.
Naturally, they are cautious about resurrections as the residents have started coming back to their native places. Birdie’s Frozen Drink Owner Toby Rose says that it was indeed a tough year for many businesses, it was great for the ones which could sustain and reopen.
Scenarios Post Lifting the Mandate
The facts and figures from the relevant authorities will help you better assess the immediate impact of lifting the mandate. According to the reports of the Metro Public Health, there were 923 active Covid-19 cases on the day the mask mandate was dismissed. After one week, on 21st May, the department recorded 845 active cases.
The Metro reports clearly exhibit a significant drop in the cases in comparison to the last month. For your information, the department report says the presence of 1,548 active cases on 23rd April. However, this lift demands residents to be more responsible for avoiding the spread of the disease.
According to Dr. Wright, this mandate lift results in increased responsibility for the residents. However, the people who are vaccinated already are in that safety zone. He says that this lift on mask mandate imposes more responsibility on people who are not vaccinated about wearing masks when they are to visit a place exposed to higher risks.
He further added that this lifting of mask mandate would not hamper people who have already been fully vaccinated. Metro Health is not concerned about those people as of now. As of Friday, 39 percent of the residents of Davidson County had been vaccinated, according to the report presented by the Metro Nashville Public Health Department.
One of the residents of Nashville, Bailey Lethgo, says, “If I wasn’t vaccinated, I would definitely still be wearing a mask. My dad has terminal cancer, so I understand the benefits of wearing a mask, but as a vaccinated person I feel like I’ve earned the right to not wear a mask.”