BLOUNT COUNTY, TENNESSEE - Blount County Sheriff James Lee Berrong, Maryville Police Chief Tony Jay Crisp, Alcoa
Police Chief David Carswell, and Townsend Police Chief Kevin Condee are committed to following their statutory duties to keep
our citizens safe. The Sheriff and Chiefs are also united in strongly urging Blount County residents to abide by Governor Bill
Lee’s Executive Orders in reference to stopping the spread of COVID-19 in Tennessee, and more specifically, our county.
Executive Orders 22 and 23 require Tennesseans to stay home unless engaging in essential activity or essential services. What
does this mean? You may travel to visit an essential business or perform an Essential Activity, as provided in Executive Order
22, but you are strongly encouraged to limit your frequency of both. We are requesting you limit the number of family members
entering into these businesses to as minimum number of people as possible. Please review Executive Order 22 at this link:
Executive Orders. These orders are in effect until 11:59 p.m., April 14,
2020. This is NOT a mandated “Shelter in Place” order, but instead requires Tennesseeans who are not engaging in essential
activity and/or working in businesses performing essential services to remain at home.
A frequently asked question that law enforcement has received over the last several hours is whether or not citizens are allowed
to take walks on our Greenways, ride their bicycles, and perform their normal outdoor activities. The answer is YES,
but it should be limited. According to Executive Order 22, engaging in outdoor activity is allowed, however, congregating or
playing on playgrounds is NOT covered as an Essential Activity. Please review the information provided by the CDC regarding
COVID-19 at this link: www.cdc.gov
Sheriff Berrong, Chief Crisp, Chief Carswell, and Chief Condee want to assure citizens that their respective law enforcement
officers will NOT be setting up checkpoints to check for travel documents of citizens who are following the guidelines set forth in
these Executive Orders.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and President Donald Trump’s Coronavirus Task Force have stated
that COVID-19 is frequently spread between people who are in close contact with one another (within 6 feet). WE URGE YOU
TO ABIDE BY THIS SOCIAL DISTANCING RULE!
We are also asking citizens of Blount County to do what we do best: pull together as a community and help one another.
Check on your friends, family, and your neighbors, especially if they live alone, by phoning them.
Offer to grocery shop for an elderly friend, neighbor, or family member.
Donate blood if you are able. Medic Regional Blood Center needs your donation. Visit their website to make an appointment.
Medic Blood
This is a fluid situation and continually changing. We will keep you apprised of updates as they occur.
As the law enforcement leaders in Blount County, we want to assure you that we are not going anywhere, and we will continue
to serve and protect our citizens. We are asking you to push through the next 12 days and abide by these Executive Orders.
Stay at home, enjoy time with your family, and make the best of this serious situation. We are all united in this together, and if
we all do our part, we can flatten the curve of the COVID-19 spread.