The Tennessee Department of Health is out with its weekly COVID-19 update. TDH says there were over ten thousand cases per day last week. There were also an average of 65 COVID-related deaths per day between January 30th and February 5th. There have been over one-million-938-thousand COVID cases in Tennessee since the outbreak began.
Governor Bill Lee is asking FEMA and TEMA to work together to assess the damage done by recent winter storms. Earlier this month, Tennessee was impacted by winter storms, including heavy rainfall in West and Middle Tennessee that turned to freezing rain and ice accumulations. The storms claimed the life of one person in Haywood County and knocked out power to tens of thousands of Tennesseans. Governor Lee says FEMA and TEMA are working on a Preliminary Damage Assessment to determine the state’s eligibility for federal assistance to support power restoration and recovery efforts.
A Silver Alert for a missing 59-year-old Clarksville woman is being renewed. The alert for Margaret Peggy Coyne was initially issued by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation in September of last year. Clarksville police say Coyne may use the last name “Remple” and was last seen in the Nashville area months before the alert was issued. She’s described as white, five-foot-eight, 130 pounds with brown hair and green eyes, and has a medical condition that may impair her ability to return home safely on her own.
The way Tennessee high schoolers are graded will change if one Middle Tennessee lawmaker has his way. The legislation is sponsored by Rep. Charlie Baum, R-Murfreesboro. As an example, if a student gets a 90 on a test it would be considered an A rather than a B. He says the bill should help kids for applying for schools, and scholarships. Baum gave hypothetical examples of students applying to top colleges who earn a 92. In Tennessee, this score is a B, but for a kid in Kentucky, it is considered an A.
