Mask mandate in Madison County to be extended two weeks

JACKSON, Tenn. — The mask mandate in Madison County will be extended for another two weeks.

City and county leaders will then look at the data every two weeks to determine if they’ll extend it again.

“If we let up our defenses now, I’m scared we’re going to see that number continue to rise,” Jackson-Madison County Regional Health Department director Kim Tedford said.

Madison County reported 50 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday and another death, bringing the total to 38.

Hospital numbers are also increasing. There were 108 COVID-positive patients at Jackson-Madison County General Hospital on Wednesday morning.

“Anything you can do to encourage your leadership to enforce a mask mandate or social distancing or prohibit gatherings. Whatever it is. We need your help,” said Amy Garner, chief compliance and communications officer for West Tennessee Healthcare.

Jackson Mayor Scott Conger got out his graphs again as a reminder about why we have the mask mandate: to slow the spread of the virus and protect the hospital system.

“So they don’t have to make those decisions of who gets a ventilator and who doesn’t, or who gets a bed and who doesn’t get a bed,” Mayor Conger said. “That’s what this is about. That’s why we’re gonna keep doing what we’re doing. Issuing the mask mandate.”

The health department is still having issues with contact tracing. They will leave you a voicemail if you don’t pick up.

If you prefer texting, they can do that too.

“It doesn’t matter to me the angst I’m going to get for extending this mask mandate. You can’t please everybody. I just have to make a decision that I feel good about, and that’s the best decision for the people in this community,” Tedford said.

The mask mandate was originally set to expire on Saturday.