Coronavirus

More than 1 in 4 U.S. workers have lost their jobs since the coronavirus crisis shut down much of the economy in March. Last week, another 2.1 million people filed for unemployment benefits, the Labor Department said Thursday. That brings the total for the past 10 weeks to 40.8 million, which …

Kingston City Manager Dave Bolling says that effective Monday, June 1st, all city departments in Kingston be back on normal scheduling.  City Hall will re-open to the public, although the Police Department offices and Fire Stations will remain closed to the public until further notice.  Although the lobby window will …

The annual Clinton Fourth of July event is canceled for this year, city officials announced on Wednesday. Instead, the city is hoping for a Labor Day weekend celebration, however, no details have been confirmed. In a release posted on the city’s Facebook page, Parks and Rec officials say they are …

Tennessee continues to be a national leader in COVID-19 testing. Tennessee has already tested 2.5% of the state’s population and is on track to reach 3% by the end of May, surpassing the White House’s testing criteria of 2% per month for a safe reopening. From May 1 – May 20, …

Friday, Gov. Lee issued Executive Order No. 38, which allows groups of up to 50 people to participate in social and recreational activities while encouraging strong social distancing measures. The order’s provisions include: Effective Friday, May 22, this order supersedes and repeals Executive Order Nos. 30, 33, and 35. The …

PBS Teaching Tennessee virtual learning program will continue through the summer, allowing students and families to have access to education and instructional content during time away from the classroom. The full schedule is available here. All Tennessee families will continue to have access to ReadyRosie, a virtual early childhood education platform …

(NFHS press release) The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) has released guidance for its 51 member state high school associations to consider in re-opening high school athletics and other activity programs across the nation. The guidance document was developed by the NFHS Sports Medicine Advisory Committee (SMAC), …

(TDLWD) Newly released data from the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development revealed the state’s highest-ever unemployment rate amid the COVID-19 health emergency. The preliminary seasonally adjusted statewide unemployment rate for April 2020 is 14.7%, which is an unprecedented spike of 11.4 percentage points when compared to March’s revised rate …

There will not be a Secret City Festival this year, organizers said Thursday. As first reported by Oak Ridge Today, on Thursday, the Secret City Festival board of directors who in April had announced that the festival, normally in June, would be postponed due to COVID-19, said Thursday that after exploring …

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee announced Thursday that he will sign an executive order allowing groups of up 50 people to gather at a time, up from 10 under a previous order. . Governor Lee said in part, “This executive order will allow groups of up to 50 people to participate …