Local News

Robertson County residentas are concerned that COVID-19 cases among children are rising.  The Tennessee Department of Health says nearly 40 percent of the new cases reported last week were among kids.  14-thousand-390 new cases of the virus among children were rreported last week.  That’s 38-and-a-half percent of the total number of new cases reported..

The Tennessee Department of Health says one of every 85 Tennesseans is infected with COVID-19.  Department officials say nearly 33-hundred residents are hospitalized with 939 in the ICU and 645 on ventilators.  Those numbers are the high-water mark so far during the pandemic.  In addition, 79 of the patients hospitalized are children.  Over 13-thousand Tennesseans have died from COVID-19.

Governor Bill Lee says he won’t change the state’s policy on masks in schools despite a civil rights investigation.  The U.S. Department of Education announced this week Tennessee is one of five states being looked at for potential discriminatory policies by banning mask mandates in schools.  The probe will look at whether statewide bans on universal indoor masking discriminate against students with disabilities who may be at heightened risk for severe illness from COVID-19.  While in Bristol on Monday, Governor Lee said he won’t change his COVID-19 mitigation strategy and stressed getting vaccinated is the best defense against the virus.

If you were planning to attend the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival change your pland. Organizers announced yesterday the event is being canceled over flooding caused by Ida.  It’s the second consecutive year the festival has been called off.  Last year’s event was COVID canceled.

There are two new police dogs on the job at Nashville International Airport.  BNA police said yesterday Power and Peggy are trained to find drugs.  The Dutch Shepherds are both about a year old and came here from the Czech Republic.