Tennessee’s Economic Recovery Group updates guidance for close contact in public

Nashville, Tenn. – Tennessee’s Economic Recovery Group continues to advance the state’s reopening plan, issuing updated guidelines today for close contact service businesses, exercise facilities and recreation activities under the Tennessee Pledge. In addition, the ERG added recommendations for large community events to the previously issued guidance for attractions and large venues. Events like fairs, festivals, expos and parades may be held in accordance with social distancing guidelines, and the ERG has provided additional recommendations to mitigate COVID-19 transmission.

“Thanks to the continued hard work of Tennesseans and business owners operating responsibly, we’re able to further reopen our state’s economy,” said Gov. Lee. “These new guidelines provide useful information so that we can enjoy the events that connect us to our neighbors and communities, and allow businesses to operate in a way that protects the wellbeing of their customers and employees.”

Updated guidelines for close contact services, exercise facilities and recreation activities now focus on social distancing measures rather than strict capacity limits. In addition, the guidelines for close contact businesses also provide guidance for resuming certain services that require the removal of face-coverings.

ERG also expanded guidance for attractions and large venues to include recommendations for large community events such as fairs and festivals. To protect Tennesseans from the spread of COVID-19, venues should implement measures to encourage social distancing, reduce occupancy and crowd density, encourage the use of cloth face coverings and increase sanitization.

Full guidelines can be found on TNpledge.com for:

• Close Contact Businesses
• Exercise Facilities
• Non-contact Recreation
• Attractions, Large Venues and Large Community Events

Six counties – Shelby, Madison, Davidson, Hamilton, Knox and Sullivan – may continue to follow individual, county-specific reopening plans created in consultation with State and local health departments.

The Economic Recovery Group (ERG), composed of 30 leaders from the public and private sector, is crafting guidance to assist businesses in a safe reopening. The industry representatives participating in the ERG collectively represent over 140,000 Tennessee businesses that employ over 2.5M Tennesseans. More information about ERG is available here.