On Sunday, citizens across multiple cities in the state of Tennessee protested the ‘Safer at Home’ orders – Nashville, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Jackson and Memphis all held rallies putting pressure on Governor Bill Lee to end the statewide lockdown.
According to Tennessee’s state health website, only 13% of COVID-19 cases have resulted in hospitalization and 2% have resulted in deaths out of nearly 7 million residents.
The video footage below captured the protest rally at the State Capitol in Nashville, including an interview with one passionate protester urging people to “start educating yourself…stop living in fear…we don’t have to give up our freedoms to make it through this crisis.” Watch:
In Chattanooga, a local entrepreneur and rally organizer told The Tennessean:
“What people don’t seem to be looking at is the certainty, […] We know we are killing everybody economically and taking away their liberties, but there’s no way to prove, or know, if distancing has been helpful. You assume it has, and I assume it has, but it’s not knowable. There’s no A-B test. That’s a crazy position to be in.”
There were 112,438 new unemployment claims filed in Tennessee for the week ending April 4 – the same week Gov. Lee’s statewide lockdown order went into effect.
Update: Shortly after we published this story, Gov. Lee announced that Tennessee’s ‘Safe at Home’ order will expire on April 30 and the “vast majority” of businesses in the state will be allowed to reopen on May 1.
READ MORE LOCKDOWN NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire Lockdown Files
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