Officials applaud those following guidelines, warn against letting guard down

JACKSON, Tenn. — We now have 178 total COVID-19 cases in Madison County.

“161 of those cases have fully recovered, and there are seven of those cases that are feeling better and are on the road to recovery,” said Kim Tedford, director of Jackson-Madison County Regional Health Department.

Both Jackson Mayor Scott Conger and Madison County Mayor Jimmy Harris say it’s because of businesses and community members that we haven’t seen a big spike in cases.

“Since March, we have been leading the way across the state, we’re continuing to do so,” Conger said. “It’s not just COVID related, it’s peaceful demonstrations and protest. We are setting the example for this area of the country, and I couldn’t be more proud of the people who call Jackson and Madison County home.”

But Tedford says it’s not time to let down your guard about wearing masks and social distancing.

“We don’t want to see a sharp rise because we still need to protect our resources at the hospital,” Tedford said.

And now that summer is officially here, you might be planning a vacation, but do your research before you go.

“Anywhere you go. Continue social distancing, washing your hands, using hand sanitizer,” Tedford said.

There also won’t be anymore free mask giveaways for a while. The Unified Command is looking into a pesticide used on the mask to make sure it’s safe.

“Infuse those masks with what’s called Silvadur, it’s registered and classified as a pesticide, because it kills bacteria,” Tedford said.

The city also got results back from three assisted living facilities after mandatory testing. There were no positive COVID-19 results.

Tedford also said they will continue to encourage social distancing for the near future.