West Tennessee Healthcare is encouraging everyone to follow the Jackson-Madison County Regional Health Department (JMCRHD) Order No. 4 , issued on Friday, July 3, 2020, which requires the use of face coverings or masks in Jackson-Madison County, TN.

“We support the decision made by JMCRHD requiring masks in public places where social distancing is difficult. We are in agreement with ongoing guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) which says that wearing a mask can limit the spread of COVID-19,” stated James Ross, President and CEO. “However, we know that wearing a mask alone is not sufficient to provide protection and should be combined with measures such as social distancing and proper hand hygiene. We don’t want to be a county that is overrun like some of the other counties in TN.”

With a significant rise in positive COVID-19 cases recently in Madison County and increasing numbers of hospitalized COVID-19 patients, it is increasingly important to decrease the spread of the virus in the community. Community spread puts the public, healthcare workers, and healthcare facilities at risk.

The health system urges the public to be socially responsible and to protect others. Because of the delay between transmission of the virus and hospitalization, anything the community can do now will affect the number of cases two weeks from now. Therefore, it is important to act quickly to slow the spread.

For a copy of JMCRHD Order No. 4, visit the City of Jackson’s website, and select the “COVID-19 Info” tab at www.jacksontn.gov. For additional COVID-19 resources, visit www.wth.org.