Gibson, Carroll Counties continue phased reopening

CARROLL COUNTY, Tenn. — Cities and counties across Tennessee slowly reopen according to Gov. Bill Lee’s executive orders.

Economies in 89 counties continue to reopen with the guidelines stated within the Tennessee Pledge.

“Many are still acting cautiously, but on the other side I think there’s a lot that were itching to get reopened, and they did so the day they were allowed to,” Carroll County Mayor Joseph Butler said.

Mayor Butler said many businesses are open with restrictions in place. Some businesses offering in-person services recommend wearing a mask or social distancing.

“We’ve got some that are still only providing curbside or delivery services,” Mayor Butler said. “And we certainly understand that and respect the private business’s decision.”

He said some churches are also starting to meet in-person again.

“We’re just stressing, for the leadership of congregations, that they look at the demographics of their church as far as age and the set up of their building,” Mayor Butler said.

In Gibson County, Trenton Mayor Ricky Jackson says getting everything back to normal won’t happen overnight.

“We won’t be back to December 2019 for a while,” Mayor Jackson said.” We’ll get there, but it will just a while.”

Officials in both counties say they feel that the phased reopenings are going well and that their people are being cautious.

“They’re not doing anything drastic to put themselves in danger, and they’re not doing anything to put others in danger,” Mayor Jackson said.

He said most businesses in Trenton are open, but some have precautionary measures in place.

“People are still wondering why this and that can’t reopen. We haven’t reopened our full park yet,” Mayor Jackson said. “We’re going by what the Economic Recovery Group in Nashville and what the governor are saying.”

Carroll County has a total of 27 cases, with one death. Mayor Butler says 23 of those have recovered so far.

Gibson County has 60 cases, with 54 residents completely recovered, according to the Tennessee Department of Health.