Mayor renews “State of Emergency” until April 21

Today, Murfreesboro Mayor Shane McFarland renewed the Declaration of ‘State of Emergency,’ extending the City’s previous declarations and adopting Governor Bill Lee’s renewed ‘Stay at Home’ Executive Order No. 27 issued Monday, April 13 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Mayor’s renewed Declaration is effective at 11:59 p.m., Tuesday, April 14 and remains in effect until 11:59 p.m. on Friday, April 21. The renewed order is attached.

“As Mayor of Murfreesboro, I am again renewing the local “State of Emergency” following Governor Lee’s Order 27 issued Monday requiring that all Tennesseans ‘stay home’ unless their activity or business is conducted as part of ‘essential activities,’” said Mayor Shane McFarland. “The renewed local Declaration remains in effect until April 21 and may be extended as necessary at that time to protect health and safety.”

On March 21, 2020, Mayor McFarland issued an order declaring a local state of emergency and extended the state of emergency on March 28, April 3 and April 10 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. All the provisions of the March 28 Order as amended on April 3 and April 10 are adopted and incorporated, including specifically adoption and incorporation of Executive Order 22 of the Governor, Sections 1 through 11, as amended by Executive Order Nos. 23 and 27. On April 13, 2020, Governor Lee issued Executive Order No. 27, extending temporary social distancing and stay-at-home provisions of Executive Orders Nos. 17, 21, 22, and 23 until April 30, 2020, to preserve and increase containment of COVID-19.

The Executive Orders allow for the continuation of essential businesses. Non-essential businesses including establishments open for eating or drinking onsite, are ordered to remain closed until April 30. For more information on non-essential businesses, Governor Lee’s Executive Orders and other information, visit https://www.tn.gov/governor/covid-19.html.

Mayor McFarland issues Declarations pursuant to special emergency powers granted to local governments pursuant to state law and follows Executive Orders issued by Governor Bill Lee in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Mayor holds regular Live televised briefings on Facebook and CityTV to provide updates on the crisis and answer questions in real-time.

The live broadcasts are aired on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/cityofmurfreesborotn. Videos can be viewed on the Coronavirus Information at the City of Murfreesboro website: https://www.murfreesborotn.gov/1690/Coronavirus-Information.

The Mayor’s next Facebook Live televised briefing is scheduled for Wednesday, April 15 at 6 p.m.

The City of Murfreesboro encourages citizens to stay informed on COVID-19 updates through Alert Rutherford. By texting “RCCOVID” to 888777, residents can opt-in to receive alerts specific to the COVID-19 event in Rutherford County. The alerts are from Rutherford County, City of Murfreesboro, City of La Vergne, Town of Smyrna, and City of Eagleville. The “Confirmed Case Count Daily Update” for Rutherford County (from the Tennessee Department of Health) is provided daily at 2:00 p.m. through this notification system. A graphic is attached.

The State of Tennessee is partnering with Nextdoor to provide official, real-time information to Tennesseans about the state’s response to COVID-19. The partnership allows the State to reach thousands of neighborhoods with critical information during this unprecedented time. All Tennessee neighborhoods on Nextdoor will automatically receive messages. If you’re not on Nextdoor, but interested in joining your Nextdoor neighborhood, you can visit https://nextdoor.com/ to download the free app.

Helpful links are provided below to assist workers and businesses impacted by Covid-19:

Workers displaced by the impact of the pandemic, can apply for unemployment benefits at www.Jobs4TN.gov.

Small businesses can apply for the Paycheck Protection Program to secure a loan designed to provide a direct incentive for small businesses to keep their workers on the payroll through the U.S. Department of Treasury at https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/top-priorities/cares-act/assistance-for-small-businesses.
The Small Business Administration (SBA) will forgive loans if all employees are kept on the payroll for eight weeks and the money is used for payroll, rent, mortgage interest, or utilities. The Program authorized $350 billion in fully forgivable loans to help small businesses maintain payrolls during the coronavirus pandemic. Small business should work with local financial institutions to participate in the program which went live on April 2. More information on the loans is available at https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/loans/coronavirus-relief-options/paycheck-protection-program-ppp.

For the latest information from the Tennessee Department of Health, visit https://www.tn.gov/health/cedep/ncov.html.

For the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) COVID-19 webpage and most recent information and guidelines: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/index.html.

Unless involved in “essential activities,” the City urges all citizens to follow the Governor’s “Stay at Home” Order and follow CDC guidelines and practices:

• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.
• Cover your cough and sneezing.
• Avoid touching your face, eyes, nose or mouth with unwashed hands.
• Stay home unless engaged in “essential activities” and practice social distancing.
• Stay home when you are sick and call your physician or the County Health Department at 615-898-7880 or 615-849-0347 for guidance.
• Stay home if you come into contact with someone who is sick.
• Clean and disinfect objects (e.g., cell phone, computer) and high touch surfaces.
• Make sure you continue to have adequate supplies, such as medications, if needed.