Could Nashville revert back to Phase One? Public Health leaders, business owners weigh in

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) — New information shows the number of COVID-19 cases in Nashville only continues to get worse. In a little over a week, cases have nearly doubled, and health officials say more than half of Tennessee Counties now have an unacceptable transmission rate.

The latest heat maps of Davidson County also continue to show trends of COVID-19 clusters in the southeastern and downtown areas of Nashville.

Today, Mayor Cooper announced that Nashville will not be leaving this modified Phase Two any time soon.

All of this information has some wondering, could Nashville ever be forced back into Phase One? It's a chilling thought for businesses like nail and hair salons that were shut down during that phase, but Mayor Cooper says if everyone wears a mask, we could save lives and jobs.

Shana Hoy and Eva Clarke own the Harlow Salon on Music Row, and they say the last few months have been like a roller coaster.

"Every day, we wake up and hope we're going to be open...hope we're going to be allowed to be open," Hoy said.

Like all other hair salons in Nashville, they were closed during Phase One. They're open now, but even that comes with uncertainty, as other businesses like bars are shut down again until at least July 31.

Hoy and Clarke say if Nashville slides back, they don't think hair salons should be forced to shut down again.

"Let's live and function as normal as possible, and take every precaution that's being handed down to us, like follow the rules, but don't shut us down," Clarke said. "Shutting us down isn't going to do anything, it's not going to help," Hoy and Clarke said.

FOX 17 News asked them if they think their business would be able to survive if they were forced to close again.

"I don't know. I have no idea. I don't know, I don't want to think about that, it's scary to think about," Hoy said.

Given Nashville's increasing numbers, do Music City's public health experts think we need to move back to earlier phases?

"We are getting actual information about this virus, and so we can take more strategic decisions on what is causing spikes or clusters and target those areas first to try to minimize the impact on our economy as much as possible, but also be the most effective in the decisions we make," Metro Coronavirus Task Force Chair Dr. Alex Jahangir said.

Mayor Cooper says even in this modified Phase Two, certain businesses like bars and restaurants are operating under the same restrictions they did during Phase One, and that masks can prevent us from closing other businesses.

"We have walked back pretty far, but what all the research shows is if you wear masks, that's as good as earlier phases or a strict lockdown, and by not having the strict lockdown, you're able to preserve jobs," Mayor Cooper said.

Dr. Jahangir said he does expect the current mask mandate and bar closures to bring numbers down in the next week or so.