NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Gov. Bill Lee issued Executive Order No. 67 which extends a previous executive order giving county mayors the authority to issue local mask mandates.
Lee issued the order Friday - the same day Tennessee reported its highest single-day increase in COVID-19 deaths since the pandemic began. Recently the state also reached its highest number of hospitalizations.
READ MORE: Gov. Lee: county mayors 'ought to be considering' implementing a mask mandate
The previous extension was scheduled to expire at the end of the month. But the governor's latest order extends the option for local governments until Dec. 29.
It applies to 89 out of the state’s 95 counties. The state’s six larger metro counties with locally governed health departments already had the authority to implement their own COVID-19 restrictions, including mask mandates.
Lee has resisted calls to implement a statewide mask mandate.
On Friday, two county mayors quickly extended their respective mandates - Sumner County Mayor Anthony Holt and Montgomery County Mayor Jim Durrett
