Sevier County Mask Order an Effort to Avoid State from Closing Businesses Again

Sevier County Mayor Larry Waters signed an executive order Tuesday mandating that residents, employees and visitors wear a face covering in public.

At a press conference in downtown Sevierville, next to the famous Dolly Parton statue adorned with her own mask, local officials joined Mayor Waters as he announced he was issuing a countywide order requiring the use of face coverings to reduce the spread of COVID-19. He admitted the issue was controversial, but he felt the order needed to be done.

The mayor’s office released a statement Tuesday that Waters signed Executive Order 23 mandating residents, employees and visitors, including visitors to the Great Smoky Mountains, wear a face covering in public to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19 and to keep local businesses operating. The order will take effect at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, July 10 and expire on Monday, August 3, 2020. The order is an effort to prevent the State of Tennessee and/or the Tennessee Department of Health from taking further measures such as ordering business restrictions or closures within Sevier County that would disrupt the economy.

Waters’ order was issued only after Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signed Executive Order 54 granting county mayors in 89 counties the authority to issue local mask requirements in the event of a significant rise in COVID-19 cases. The mayor’s office said Waters consulted with government leaders across the county on the issue, including Sevierville Mayor Robbie Fox, Pigeon Forge Mayor David Wear, Gatlinburg Mayor Mike Werner, Pittman Center Mayor Jerry Huskey, county commissioners, city managers of each city, emergency and law enforcement officials, tourism and economic officials, and state and regional health officials.

“After discussion with local, regional, and state officials and leaders, we have determined that ordering a face covering mandate is in the best interest of Sevier County,” Waters said. “We are doing this for the health and safety of our residents, employees, and visitors. We are also doing it to prevent another interruption or shutdown of businesses, and so our schools can open this fall.

“We understand that this measure may be an inconvenience, but it is necessary as we continue to seek a balance between a healthy community and commerce. Requiring the wearing of face coverings helps mitigate the possibility of the state placing further restrictions or closures on our local businesses.”

The order requests businesses to post signage at public entrances informing patrons of the face covering requirement.

The county spoke with the state to acquire masks for businesses and law enforcement officers to hand out to people who may not have one or know of the new mandate. People who willfully defy the order may be subject to penalties from law enforcement, but Waters requested first-time offenders be given a warning and educated on the purpose the order.

The Tennessee Department of Health is required to monitor the COVID-19 outbreak in Sevier County and provide detailed weekly updates to Waters. If the county mayor, along with the mayors and officials from the respective cities within Sevier County, deem the order ineffective in slowing the spread of COVID-19 as demonstrated by data provided by the Tennessee Department of Health, the order can be rescinded earlier than August 3.

Executive Order 23 lists the 13 instances below in which the face covering order does not apply:

• Within one’s residence or motor vehicles (unless transporting others for hire, carpooling, etc.), hotel and motel rooms while rented to and solely occupied by guests registered to the room, overnight rentals while rented to and solely occupied by guests registered to the rental;
• By a child twelve (12) years of age or younger;
• By someone who has trouble breathing due to an underlying health condition or another bona fide medical or health-related reason for not wearing a face covering;
• By someone who is incapacitated or otherwise unable to remove the face covering without assistance;
• By someone with conditions or disabilities that prevent them from wearing a face covering;
• While actively eating or drinking;
• While outdoors. Persons outdoors are encouraged to follow Tennessee Pledge and maintain social distancing;
• While participating in indoor athletic events or indoor exercising, as permitted by the Tennessee Pledge and orders from the Governor, while maintaining proper social distancing where possible;
• While working at location of employment under conditions where appropriate social distancing or protection from others (others is defined as outside of the person’s household) is substantially maintained;
• In situations in which wearing a face covering poses a safety or security risk;
• While in a house of worship unless required by that house of worship, but wearing a face covering in such locations is strongly encouraged (for more information on worship, we encourage churches to follow the Tennessee Pledge);
• The Sevier County School System is exempt from this order as it will formulate its own reopening guidelines.
• Private businesses may implement stricter guidelines (for example, requiring face coverings outdoors on private property, etc.).

On May 25th, Memorial Day, the county had a total of 72 cases, four of which were active at that time. The county experienced a spike about 2 weeks following the holiday reopening that has steadily grown.

As of July 7, 2020, Sevier County has a total of 857 cases of COVID-19 among residents. 372 of those cases are currently active, 482 recovered and 3 died. 26 residents have been hospitalized. See Sevier County COVID-19 data daily on our Facebook page.

Read the entire Sevier County mask order here:

EXECUTIVE ORDER No. 23

By: Mayor Larry Waters

Declaration of Face Covering Requirement

WHEREAS, importantly, Sevier County and the cities of Sevierville, Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg, and Pittman Center have consistently urged, at the recommendation of the State of Tennessee and the Centers for Disease Control, the wearing of a face covering by Sevier Countians and visitors to the Great Smoky Mountains to mitigate the spread of COVID-19; and,

WHEREAS, mitigating the spread of COVID-19 ensures the health and safety of residents, employees, and visitors which in turn prevents the State of Tennessee and the Tennessee Department of Health from taking more drastic and disruptive measures for our economy including the closure of businesses; and

WHEREAS, Sevier County has seen an increase in COVID-19 cases amongst Sevier County residents since the reopening of our local economy in May 2020; and,

WHEREAS, due to the number of rising cases and the potential strain on the health system of Sevier County and the region of East Tennessee, it is possible the State of Tennessee and/or the Tennessee Department of Health may order business restrictions or closures within Sevier County, and local leaders intend to ensure that step is not needed nor taken by the state; and,

WHEREAS, in addition to the overall health threat to our residents, employees, and visitors and the potential business restrictions and/or closures, local officials are concerned that the state may consider further restrictions on school openings and overall school schedule; and,

WHEREAS, opinions from the Tennessee Attorney General in addition to the opinion of the county attorney and other state associations, and further confirmed by Executive Order 54, held that the authority to mandate facial coverings was with the State of Tennessee; and,

WHEREAS, Governor Bill Lee of Tennessee issued Executive Order 54 on July 3, 2020, permitting certain county mayors, including Sevier County’s, to issue local face covering requirements through August 3, 2020; and,

WHEREAS, Mayor Larry Waters has consulted with government leaders across the county including Mayor Robbie Fox of Sevierville, Mayor David Wear of Pigeon Forge, Mayor Mike Werner of Gatlinburg, Mayor Jerry Huskey of Pittman Center, city managers of each incorporated city, emergency management and law enforcement agencies, tourism and economic officials, and regional health officials to discuss the now new option of requiring face coverings in Sevier County; and,

WHEREAS, those officials from each entity agree that to best protect our residents, employees, and visitors from the spread of COVID-19 and keep our economy open in light of the increasing cases within Sevier County, and following the Governor’s recent Executive Order 54, an order requiring the use of face masks should be issued with the intent to increase face covering usage and slow the spread of COVID-19; and,

WHEREAS, the Commissioner of Health and the Tennessee Department of Health endorses an order requiring the wearing of masks within Sevier County; and,

WHEREAS, with authority to issue such a face covering requirement delegated to the County Mayor in most counties in the State of Tennessee by Governor Lee’s Executive Order 54 and not the Tennessee Department of Health which has the original authority per Tennessee Code Annotated to manage the response to a pandemic, the need for the Tennessee Department of Health to inform Mayor Waters and the other local officials making this decision of pertinent information on the status of the pandemic and the effectiveness of such an order on the spread of COYID-19 is paramount; and,

WHEREAS, Title 58 of Tennessee Code Annotated, specifically §58-2-110, authorizes the mayor of a political subdivision to declare a local state of emergency by executive order, which is currently in effect for Sevier County and such declaration coincides with Governor Lee’s state of emergency and authority as permitted in Title 58 of Tennessee Code Annotated.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Sevier County Mayor Larry Waters in consultation with Mayor Robbie Fox of Sevierville, Mayor David Wear of Pigeon Forge, Mayor Mike Werner of Gatlinburg, and Mayor Jerry Huskey of Pittman Center, pursuant to Governor Lee’s request, to protect the health and safety of residents, employees, and visitors, and to mitigate the possibility of the state placing further restrictions and/or closures on businesses, declare that face coverings shall be mandatory within Sevier County, including all city incorporated areas, beginning 12:01 AM on Friday, July 10 through 11:59 PM Monday, August 3, except under the following conditions:

• Within one’s residence or motor vehicles (unless transporting others for hire, carpooling, etc.), hotel and motel rooms while rented to and solely occupied by guests registered to the room, overnight rentals while rented to and solely occupied by guests registered to the rental;
• By a child twelve (12) years of age or younger;
• By someone who has trouble breathing due to an underlying health condition or another bona fide medical or health-related reason for not wearing a face covering;
• By someone who is incapacitated or otherwise unable to remove the face covering without assistance;
• By someone with conditions or disabilities that prevent them from wearing a face covering;
• While actively eating or drinking;
• While outdoors. Persons outdoors are encouraged to follow Tennessee Pledge and maintain social distancing;
• While participating in indoor athletic events or indoor exercising, as permitted by the Tennessee
• Pledge and orders from the Governor, while maintaining proper social distancing where possible; While working at location of employment under conditions where appropriate social distancing and/or protection from others (others is defined as outside of the person’s household) is substantially maintained;
• In situations in which wearing a face covering poses a safety or security risk;
• While in a house of worship unless required by that house of worship, but wearing a face covering in such locations is strongly encouraged (for more information on worship, we encourage churches to follow the Tennessee Pledge);
• The Sevier County School System is exempt from this order as it will formulate its own reopening guidelines.
• Private businesses may implement stricter guidelines (for example, requiring face coverings outdoors on private property, etc.).

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Tennessee Department of Health is required to continue to monitor the outbreak within Sevier County and provide detailed weekly updates on the effectiveness of this face covering requirement to the County Mayor and local governments. This is due to the authority of such a decision given to the County Mayor by Executive Order 54 while the Tennessee Department of Health via the Regional/Local Health Department has the primary responsibility of managing a pandemic. This information to be provided by the Tennessee Department of Health will include metrics and measurements to determine whether this face covering order is effective. Full authority per Executive Order 54 is given to the County Mayor to implement and extend/rescind this order as seen fit; however, it is the intent of the County Mayor, in consultation with the city mayors and officials, to evaluate in conjunction with the Tennessee Department of Health throughout the order. If the County Mayor, along with the mayors and officials from the respective cities within Sevier County, deem the order not effective in slowing the spread of COVID-19 via information from the Tennessee Department of Health, this order can be rescinded earlier than the August 3 expiration date. This order may be extended by the County Mayor in consultation with the city mayors and officials if deemed effective via information by the Tennessee Department of Health and following further executive orders by Governor Lee.

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the County Mayor requests businesses and any indoor establishments to clearly place proper signage consistent with this regulation.

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that law enforcement shall use reasonable care to address willful failure to follow this order and violators of this order in conjunction with Governor Lee’s Executive Order 54 may be subject to penalties as allowed by law. However, given the intent of this order is to increase the wearing of face coverings to protect the health of residents, employees, and visitors and to ensure the state does not take further measures to disrupt our local businesses and economy, the County Mayor requests first time offenders of this order be given a warning and educated on the purpose of such order.

SO ORDERED this 7th day of July 2020.

Honorable Larry Waters
Mayor, Sevier County