(TENNESSEE) State regulations limiting the number of persons at restaurants and retail stores will cease this coming Friday (5/22/2020). Tennessee's Economic Recovery Group said that on that date business owners will be allowed to operate at full capacity and focus instead on social distancing. Some large attraction events are also included.

The new Large Attractions guidance applies to those businesses that can effectively practice social distancing with strong measures to protect both employees and customers, including racetracks, amusement parks, waterparks, theaters and dinner theaters, auditoriums, large museums and more.

Updates to Restaurant Guidance will include a lift on capacity restrictions, allowing for increased service as long as social distancing guidelines are adhered to, including 6 feet between tables.

Governor Bill Lee warns that restrictions on social gatherings of more than 10 people remain in place for the time being.

The governor said, "Tennesseans have worked incredibly hard to do their part and help slow the spread of COVID-19 so that our state can begin to reopen. Thanks to their continued efforts, we're able to allow restaurants and retail businesses to operate at greater capacity and large attractions to open in a safe and thoughtful way."

Lee noted, "Our state continues to see downward trends in case growth and meets the White House criteria for a phased reopening. This progress has been hard-won, and we can build upon it by reopening while also maintaining common-sense safety measures like mask-wearing and good hygiene. By taking the Tennessee Pledge, our businesses can reopen in a way that protects the health of their customers and employees, and protects the livelihoods of hard-working Tennesseans."

This new ruling only applies to the 89 counties that utilize the services of the Tennessee Health Department. The six with their own county health department are not required to operate in accordance with the state. Those counties are: Shelby, Madison, Davidson, Hamilton, Knox and Sullivan.

Hospital capacity remains sufficient to meet the needs of patients, while the state continues to meet the goal of testing 2 percent of the population per month.

The Economic Recovery Group, composed of 30 leaders from the public and private sector, is crafting guidance to assist businesses in a safe reopening. The industry representatives collectively represent over 140,000 Tennessee businesses that employ over 2.5 million Tennesseans.