Tennessee Governor Bill Lee issued a new executive order yesterday that supersedes and repeals previous executive orders. The new order, Executive Order 30, goes into effect today (Wednesday, April 29, 2020) and runs to Friday, May 29, 2020.

Despite restaurants and retail stores opening back up in the state and gyms set to open this Friday, the new order states residents are urged to continue limiting activity and staying home as much as possible “to preserve and build on the health progress the state has made.”

The order said that all businesses that choose to reopen are “expected to comply with the Governor’s Economic Recovery Group Guidelines for operating safely, as well as general health guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and other government entities.”

Here are the highlights of Executive Order 30:

• Social and recreational gatherings of 10 or more people remain prohibited, including but not limited to festivals, fairs, parades, youth and adult sporting events, and overnight summer youth camps.
• The governor added that it “does not cover places of worship” which will have other guidelines, but it does “strongly encourage” places of worship continue to hold services virtually when possible.
• Weddings and funerals are not prohibited but it does encourage “postponement of large-gathering components of such events.”
• Entertainment and recreational gathering venues must remain closed to the public for now, including, but not limited to, bars, night clubs, live performance venues, bowling alleys, arcades, concert and sporting event venues, theaters, auditoriums, performing arts centers, racetracks, indoor children’s play areas, adult entertainment venues, amusement parks, senior centers, and skating rinks.
• barber shops and salons will open Wednesday, May 6, 2020 under specific guidelines.
• Nursing homes and similar facilities must remain closed to visitors “except for critical assistance and in end-of-life situations.”
• People with COVID-19 or COVID-19 symptoms are required to stay at home, and employers may not require or allow employees with COVID-19 to work.
• In public, people are “urged” to wear cloth masks “especially where social distancing is difficult.”
• While restaurants are reopening for dining-in, the order allows such businesses to “encourage customers to utilize take-out or delivery options.”