Only 9% of coronavirus cluster cases in Nashville were tied to social activities deemed by many blue-city prefects to be “nonessential,” according to a recent contact-tracing investigation.
New data released by the Metro Public Health Department on Monday found that only 15 of the 165 clusters of COVID-19 cases in Nashville since March were connected to social gatherings in public spaces, such as exercising in public gyms (7), eating out (4), and going out to bars (4).
Despite this, restaurants and gyms still face strict operating restrictions.
Last week, Nashville officials lifted some of them, but restaurants and bars can still only operate with up to 100 patrons per floor and 100 patrons outdoors, and they must close by 11 p.m.
Gyms and workout facilities are also still limited to 50% capacity.
The data made it clear that nursing homes are the real source of spread in Nashville, mirroring nationwide statistics. Long-term-care facilities account for 43 clusters, totaling more than 1,000 cases over the past eight months.
Nashville officials came under fire earlier this year for intentionally hiding data that proved restaurants and bars were not contributing to the spread of the coronavirus in order to keep the city under lockdown.
Uncovered emails between Democrat Nashville Mayor John Cooper and the city’s health department revealed the mayor’s office did not want the public to discover its contact-tracing results, which provided numbers similar to those just released.
“This isn’t going to be publicly released, right? Just info for Mayor’s Office?” Leslie Waller, who works for the city’s health department, wrote to Cooper’s senior adviser Benjamin Eagles, according to Fox-17.
“Correct, not for public consumption,” replied Eagles.
Nashville City Council member Steve Glover responded to the news and blasted the city for blowing its “credibility.”
“It’s gone,” he said. “I don’t trust a thing they say going forward … nothing.”
