'Nashville is open for business.' Mayor John Cooper discusses reopening, vaccinations

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Nashville Mayor John Cooper stopped by NewsChannel 5 This Morning as the city prepares to lift all of its remaining capacity restrictions on Friday.

Beginning at midnight Friday, there will be no restrictions on gathering size or business capacity in Davidson County.

May 14th marks six weeks since the vaccine became available to all adults in Nashville. Health officials said six weeks corresponds to the time needed to reach full immunity from the slowest of the three available vaccines.

Cooper called it "a huge day for the city" and said Nashville is "open for business." "We’re finally at the other end of all this COVID era," he said.

Last month, Metro Health officials announced the city would lift all remaining COVID-19 restrictions, except for the indoor mask mandate. Additionally, Metro Health said it still recommends mask wearing while outdoors when social distancing cannot be maintained.

“You’ll still have COVID, and you will until the vaccination rate gets way, way up there, that will linger in places, but you can’t shut down the economy over that," Cooper said. "Everybody should get a vaccination and that’s the key to our future."

Cooper's goal was to have 50% residents vaccinated by May, and while that didn't happen, a little more than 40% of residents have received their first dose of the vaccine. About 35% of residents are now fully vaccinated. Click here to make a vaccine appointment in Davidson County. You can also call 615-862-7777.

Since COVID-19 was first identified in Davidson County back in March 2020, Metro has reported nearly 100,000 total cases. More than 900 deaths have been attributed to the virus.