Cumberland County Mayor Allen Foster minutes ago issued a statement regarding the state saying there is now 6 cases of coronavirus in Cumberland County. The statement is as follows:

“As of this writing, I have been notified by the Tennessee Department of Health (TDH) that six residents of Cumberland County have tested positive for COVID-19, the novel coronavirus. The patients have been placed in quarantine and are recovering at home.  Contact tracing is standard in these cases. That is all the information that has been released at this time.

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

Our local Emergency Management Agency is in charge of coordinating the purchase of PPE for health care providers.  Note, EMA does NOT coordinate this for individuals, only for health care providers.  If you are a health care provider and are in need of PPE, please contact the EMA at 931-484-7016.

Safer at Home

As with many other issues during the COVID-19 outbreak, we are in unchartered territory when it comes to the authority granted to County Mayors in Tennessee.  We are fielding many questions about a “Safer at Home” type of order from my office so I thought I’d take a minute to explain the current understanding of the situation for counties with the traditional structure of government that do not operate their local Health Department.

I have talked to our County Attorney regarding a “Safer at Home” type of order on several occasions. He has discussed the situation with various other lawyers and government associations. I have discussed it with other County Mayors as well as our state legislators. We have been informed that the clearest authority for these types of actions lies with the Governor and the Department of Health.

As I have stated before, this is a fluid situation. The laws of the State of Tennessee weren’t necessarily written with this specific situation in mind and most county authority only extends to unincorporated areas. There are many more details and nuances that are being worked through, but I am staying in contact with those that are working on this issue in the event something changes.

With that in mind, please remember that you are “Safer at Home”, requirement or not.  Stay home as much as possible until the State and Federal government asks us to do otherwise.  Practice social distancing. Wash your hands!  EVERYONE NEEDS to follow the President’s 15 days to slow the spread as well as the Executive Orders from our Governor! Check out my Public Service Announcement here.

Thank you for being part of the solution, and thank you for the opportunity to serve as your County Mayor.  If you are interested in following the events of the county, please subscribe to my newsletter, and follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Thank you,

Allen Foster

Cumberland County Mayor”