Jackson mayor plans to release economic recovery plan this week

JACKSON, Tenn. — In a news release, Jackson Mayor Scott Conger confirmed Monday that he plans to release an economic recovery plan for the city this week.

Mayor Conger released a statement following Gov. Bill Lee’s update Monday afternoon, in which extended a statewide safer-at-home order through April 30 and confirmed a hope that the state’s economy would reopen in May.

Mayor Conger said in his statement that the city is also anxious to reopen businesses, but officials are not guaranteeing that their timeline will match the governor’s.

The city released a list of benchmarks for businesses in order to reopen the local economy. Those benchmarks are:

• A sustained reduction in cases for at least 14 days.
• Hospital’s ability to safely treat all patients who require hospitalization without crisis standards
• Test all people with virus symptoms
• Conduct active monitoring of confirmed cases and contacts

Mayor Conger said the plan includes steps for opening businesses, goals, monitoring and a plan if numbers spike during recovery.

The statement reads, in part:

I want your businesses to open. I want your kids to go back to school. I want life to return to normal. It’s dangerous to pursue those wants when the cost is human lives. We are diligently monitoring new cases, recoveries, hospital bed availability, ventilators and a number of other factors that will determine when we can start implementing a recovery. Managing the virus is half the battle. I can promise you that we will fight just as hard for the recovery. We will fight hard for your businesses. We will fight hard for your families. Jackson will not fail.”

To read Mayor Conger’s full statement, click here.