Nashville leaders said Thursday that the city will revert to phase two of its reopening plan after a series of record days of COVID-19 reporting.
So-called limited-service restaurants, or bars that derive less than half of their revenue from food, will be forced to close for at least two weeks, Mayor John Cooper said, after “record” cases were traced to reopened bars. Restaurants will step back from 75 percent capacity to 50 percent capacity and event and entertainment venues will be closed again.
The new restrictions go into effect Friday and could remain in place for several weeks or more, the mayor said. Fourth of July fireworks are also canceled.
“Our phase three has not been effective, and we’re going to go back to what we know is effective in slowing the spread of disease,” Cooper said.
The restrictions will be modified, though. Some loosened restrictions from phase three will remain in place, including at dog parks and swimming pools, where Cooper said the city has not traced cases.
Nashville health officials reported 608 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, another record.
The move comes as yet another restaurant group proactively shut down in response to the virus.
M Street is closing its restaurants after positive COVID-19 results were confirmed among employees at Saint Anejo, Kayne Prime and Virago. The plan, according to a Facebook post, is to reopen next week “after all precautionary measures are taken, including deep sanitization of all facilities and additional staff testing.”
