Nashville mayor orders ‘non-essential’ businesses to close, residents to stay home

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Nashville Mayor John Cooper ordered all businesses in Davidson County that do not perform essential services to close for 14 days.

During his daily news conference Sunday morning, March 22, Mayor Cooper announced his “Safer At Home Order," set to take effect at 12:01 a.m. on Monday, March 23.

What does the "Safer At Home Order" mean?

Residents of Metro Nashville and Davidson County are required to stay inside their homes unless they are engaged in certain “essential activities.” On those occasions when you are out of your home for necessary tasks, stay at least six feet away from others.

You can… 


    You should not … 


      Which services are deemed essential?

      The following essential activities will remain open:


        In addition:


          This order does not apply to employees of government agencies working within the course and scope of their public service employment. Employees of the Metro Nashville shall follow any current or future directives issued by the Mayor.

          Individuals may leave their residences to provide any services or goods or perform any work necessary to the operations, maintenance, and manufacturing of essential infrastructure, including without limitation:


            You can find answers to more questions about the order on the city’s COVID-19 website.

            In a statement released by Vanderbilt University Medical Center following the mayor’s announcement of the "Safer at Home Order," President and CEO Jeff Balser said, “with the number of cases of COVID-19 rising rapidly, Nashvillians need to take every step now to slow the spread of the virus – to preserve precious health care resources to care for those who will soon need them.  Mayor Cooper’s Safer at Home Order will save lives.”

            Balser added, “by following the order, we can reduce the number of people who need hospitalization all at once, enabling us to manage the coming COVID-19 patients while also serving people with many other conditions, like heart disease and cancer, who will continue to need us.”

            During the city’s briefing Sunday morning, the Metro Public Health Department also announced 179 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Nashville and Davidson County. The department said one death had been reported, two people remained hospitalized, 27 had recovered from the virus, and 149 people were self-isolated at home with “mild and manageable symptoms.”