COVID-19 Pandemic in Maury County

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As of Spring 2021, the COVID-19 Pandemic is an ongoing public health challenge in most of the world, including Maury County, Tennessee.

It relates to the infectious spread of novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), which causes serious illness and death in some cases.[1]

First Cases

The first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Maury County was announced on March 20, 2020.[2] The first confirmed death was recorded on April 9.[3]

Effects

Between March 20, 2020, and March 16, 2021:

  • 162 deaths in Maury County have been attributed to COVID-19.
  • 12,410 total cases have been reported, of which 12,095 cases were inactive (including deaths) or recovered.

Vaccinations

As of March 5, 2021, approximately 10 percent of Maury County residents have received two doses of the COVID-19, and about 15 percent have received at least one dose.[4]

Local Government Response

Maury County launched free drive-thru COVID-19 testing in April 2020.[5] Drive-thru testing was reduced to two days per week (Tuesday and Thursday) in December.[6]

On July 6, 2020, Gov. Bill Lee signed Executive Order 54, which granted county mayors the authority to order the wearing of masks and other face coverings in public.[7] County Mayor Andy Ogles refused to order the wearing of masks in Maury County, claiming that doing so would be unconstitutional.[8]

Maury County Public Schools had several openings and closures of schools in 2020 and 2021, but did not require students to wear masks.[9]

Vaccines became available on January 2 for senior citizens over the age of 75. The first batch of vaccines delivered to the county was used up in less than two hours, leaving some disappointed.[10]

The city of Spring Hill repealed an ordinance that prohibited wearing facial coverings (originally passed many years prior out of concern for public safety, e.g. preventing masked outlaws from robbing banks) in August 2020.[11]

Columbia Mayor Chaz Molder strongly advocated for wearing masks; he and his wife both tested positive for COVID-19 in July.[12]

Impact on Local Economy

On March 30, Gov. Bill Lee ordered the temporary closure of non-essential businesses.[13] During April, many local businesses (particularly restaurants) were shut down; but many began to re-open by the end of the month.[14] The unemployment rate in Maury County increased from 2.8 percent in March 2020 to 21.8 percent in April 2020, before falling to 5.8 percent in December.[15]

Several local businesses closed permanently during the COVID-19. Shady Brook Cinema in Columbia announced it was closing "indefinitely" in late November.[16][17]

Impact on Local Events

Mule Day was canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[18]

The Maury County Fair was held in September 2020.[19]

The public New Year's Eve celebrations were moved from downtown Columbia to Maury County Park to allow for social-distancing.[20]

References

  1. ↑ Wikipedia contributors. "COVID-19 pandemic." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 5 Mar. 2021. Web. 5 Mar. 2021.
  2. ↑ Bennett, James. "Maury County confirms first case of coronavirus." The Daily Herald. 20 March 2020. Web (columbiadailyherald.com). 5 March 2021.
  3. ↑ "Mayor confirms Maury County’s first COVID-19 death." News Channel 5 Nashville. 9 April 2020. Web (newschannel5.com). 5 March 2021.
  4. ↑ "Maury County, Tennessee." CovidActNow. 5 March 2021. Web (covidactnow.org). 5 March 2021.
  5. ↑ Willis, Alexander. "Maury County COVID-19 testing moved to new location over weather concerns." Spring Hill Home Page. 24 April 2020. Web (williamsonhomepage.com). 5 March 2021.
  6. ↑ Maury County Office Of Emergency Management. Facebook post. 11 Dec. 2020. Web (facebook.com). 5 March 2021.
  7. ↑ Lee, Bill. "An Order Providing Local Governments with Authority Concerning Face Coverings." Executive Order No. 54. 6 July 2020. Web (tnsosfiles.com). 5 March 2021.
  8. ↑ Christen, Mike. "Maury County Mayor Andy Ogles forms online 'army' in opposition of mask mandates." The Daily Herald. 22 December 2020. Web (columbiadailyherald.com). 5 March 2021.
  9. ↑ DelPilar, Jackie. "Maury County student confronts school leaders to implement mask mandate." Fox 17 WZTV Nashville. 2 March 2021. Web (fox17.com). 5 March 2021.
  10. ↑ Warick, Sydney. "Columbia mayor disappointed with state over rollout of vaccine for locals." News 4 Nashville. 2 Jan. 2021. Web (wsmv.com). 5 March 2021.
  11. ↑ Powell, Jay. "Masks in Spring Hill: Update to ordinance sparks strong debate on both sides." The Daily Herald. 23 Aug. 2020. Web (columbiadailyherald.com). 5 March 2021.
  12. ↑ Bennett, James. "James Bennett column: Columbia Mayor Molder, family endure bout with COVID-19."The Daily Herald. 5 Sept. 2020. Web (columbiadailyherald.com). 5 March 2021.
  13. ↑ "Maury County now has 11 cases of COVID-19; Gov. Lee issues closure of non-essential businesses." Christen, Mike. The Daily Herald. 30 March 2020. Web (columbiadailyherald.com). 5 March 2021.
  14. ↑ Christen, Mike and Powell, Jay. "Restaurants begin to reopen in Maury County." The Daily Herald. 27 April 2020. Web (columbiadailyherald.com). 5 March 2021.
  15. ↑ U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. "Unemployment Rate in Maury County, TN [TNMAUR0URN." Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis - FRED. 3 Feb. 2021. Web (fred.stlouisfed.org). 5 March 2021.]
  16. ↑ "Columbia theater closing indefinitely due to COVID-19 pandemic." WKRN.com. 23 Nov. 2020. Web (wkrn.com). 5 March 2021.
  17. ↑ Powell, Jay. "Shady Brook and saying goodbye to Columbia's local theater." The Daily Herald. 12 Dec. 2020. Web (columbiadailyherald.com). 5 March 2021.
  18. ↑ Powell, Jay. "Mule Day 2021 canceled once again due to COVID-19." The Daily Herald. 2 Feb. 2020. Web (columbiadailyherald.com). 5 March 2021.
  19. ↑ Jorge, Kaylin. "'Inherent Risk' Maury County Fair starts next week, organizers warn of COVID-19 exposure." Fox 17 WZTV Nashville. 25 Aug 2020. Web (fox17.com). 5 March 2021.
  20. ↑ Powell, Jay. The Daily Herald. 29 Dec. 2020. Web (columbiadailyherald.com). 5 March 2021.

External Links

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