Closure of bars, 10 p.m. closure for Nashville restaurants extended – Community Impact Newspaper
Closure of bars, 10 p.m. closure for Nashville restaurants extended Community Impact Newspaper
Mayor John Cooper said while the city has seen some slight improvements in recent weeks, it is not ready to reopen businesses that were identified as sources of coronavirus infections. (Alex Hosey/Community Impact Newspaper)
Mayor John Cooper announced in a morning briefing July 28 that the city’s closure of bars and limited service restaurants will remain in effect until at least Aug. 16. The 10 p.m. closure for restaurants that serve alcohol has also been extended.
While coronavirus case numbers are still above the satisfactory levels outlined in the city’s Road to Reopening plan, Cooper said the city is seeing some slight improvements. Nashville has seen some slight decreases in the number of active cases in the past couple of weeks, according to data from the Tennessee Department of Health. As of July 28, the city had more than 5,300 active cases, according to the Metro Public Health Department.
However, Cooper said the city is still not within the satisfactory levels required to move forward with reopening businesses.
“Let me be clear: The difficult work of responding to the coronavirus still lies ahead,” Cooper said during the briefing. “We are on a trail that can lead us out of the wilderness, but we are still in the woods. One wrong move, one brief moment of distraction, and we will lose our bearings.”
Cooper said transpotainment vehicles, such as pedal pubs and party buses, will also remain closed.
By Wendy Sturges
A Houston native and graduate of St. Edward’s University in Austin, Wendy Sturges has worked as a community journalist covering local government, health care, business and development since 2011. She has worked with Community Impact since 2015 as a reporter and editor and moved to Tennessee in 2019.
