Latest update...

We just got off the phone with the Governor, he talked about opening back up on Monday. He talked about all the great testing, I wish that were true. Knox ran out after 2 days, others did as well.

He tried to make sense of his justification for reopening, just as he did in his press event yesterday. It was convoluted and not based in science...it reminded me of "the new math." The fact is, we have tested less than 2% of Tennesseans.

The Economic Task Force is mostly lobbyists. The head is also the head of the NFIB, a group that pretends to be for small biz, though they have less than 10% of TN small biz as members last I heard.

If you google them, you find that 90% of their money comes from the Koch's. This is the guy that they call up as an "expert" in all the Biz Committee meetings to shoot down things like raised wages and paid family leave.

Why are we relying on lobbyists to reopen instead of public health experts?

There are no practicing doctors or epidemiologists on this task force that I saw. There is no representative on the committee for actual workers, such as a union leader. We heard no plan for PPE for workers or customers.

Last I went in Kroger, I was one of few with a mask, no one honored the 6 foot rule, and even cashiers did not have masks. (He did say they had ordered 5 million masks, though nothing about who is required to wear them and who will get them-

that won't last long as most will need to be replaced daily and there are almost 7 million Tennesseans.)

I am not sure that these great "business leaders" really understand business at all. You need customers, customers who feel confident going out-the Governor has not done the ground work to build that confidence.

Just because he has deemed it safe, the experts have not. Just because he says we are doing great testing, doesn't make it so (trump says the same.)

We need rapid testing, tracing, and PPE before we even consider beginning to reopen. Everyone going out in public needs to wear a mask. If they are going in a business and don't have one, they need to be given one. Y'all, we are not ready.

As for unemployment, they keep talking about how hard it is. They don't mention how hard it is on the folks not getting a check. Again they said they are upgrading the system and independent contractors will be getting processed "in the coming days."

I feel terrible this is all I can relay to you. I don't think this is the first time I have heard this or had to relay this. IT IS AN EPIC FAILURE ON THE PART OF OUR GOVERNOR! Yet we are supposed to trust him to open back biz in 95 counties in a safe way for our families?

Sorry, I do not have the confidence that we are ready. I have businesses asking what businesses are supposed to open Monday, this doesn't seem ideal.

I want us to get back to work, I think we can start developing an actual strategy, but it needs to be based on information from public health experts and not lobbyists.

***Also, there is not one shred of public guidance available on the state website for business owners who want to safely open next week. The ones I talk to have no idea what is required.