Posted 05-18-21.
The City of Sevierville has discontinued facial covering requirements for entry into government facilities effective immediately.
The facial covering requirement to enter City facilities has been in place to help mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 virus during the pandemic. Considering recent CDC and White House guidelines, along with a significant reduction in COVID-19 cases and the widespread availability of vaccines, the city is discontinuing the requirement.
In accordance with CDC guidelines, the City encourages the wearing of facial coverings indoors by unvaccinated persons and others who may feel safer doing so.
Posted 04-26-21.
Please note: The following information has been provided by the Sevier County Emergency management Agency.
The Sevier County Health Department and local government have partnered to facilitate several closed PODS in Sevierville, Pigeon Forge, and Gatlinburg in May. Our goal is to make it a little easier for those who have had difficulty in registering for a vaccine, and bringing the vaccination location a little closer as well.
Our vaccination pods will provide more flexibility for individuals to schedule an appointment.
First-dose Vaccination Pods:
May 3 & 4 (Monday & Tuesday)—Sevier County Health Department, Sevierville
May 17 (Monday)—Rocky Top Sports World, Gatlinburg
May 24 (Monday)—The LeConte Center, Pigeon Forge
• All participants must schedule an appointment in advance
• Business owners can register employees, or employees can schedule their appointments.
• Vaccinations are available to all employees and their family members.
• All participants must be at least 16 years of age at the time of vaccination.
• Appointments are available by visiting Sevier County Vaccine at http://bit.ly/SevierCounty or by calling 865-774-3944
• Only the Pfizer vaccine will be available.
Registration is open now, and appointments are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Information about the vaccine is available https://covid19.tn.gov/covid-19-vaccines/ .
Posted 04-20-21.
As the availability of vaccines and the number of Sevier County residents who have been vaccinated both substantially increase, we will no longer be posting COVID-19 updates. The information is still available at https://covid19.tn.gov/data/data-reporting/.
Posted 04-16-21.
From the state health dept.: there are 13,086 confirmed and probable cases, 66,699 negative tests, 12,723 inactive/recoveries, 176 active cases, 276 hospitalizations since the outbreak, and 174 deaths in Sevier County due to COVID-19. For more on state reporting, go to https://www.tn.gov/health/cedep/ncov/data/data-faqs.html.
Sevier County's facial covering mandate has expired. Persons are still encouraged to wear facial coverings indoors, practice social distancing, and wash hands frequently. Businesses may still require facial coverings at their discretion. The City of Sevierville requires facial coverings to enter City government facilities.
Posted 04-14-21.
NOTE: the following information was provided by Sevier County Government
Sevier County Executive Order 65, which extended the face-covering mandate, will expire at 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, April 15, and not be renewed.
“Based on our decreasing positivity rate and the increase in vaccine availability, I feel it is an appropriate time to allow the executive order to expire,” said Sevier County Mayor Larry Waters. “However, people do have to make responsible decisions to keep themselves and others as safe as possible. I encourage everyone to continue wearing face coverings when social distancing is not possible.”
Businesses can still have regulations regarding face coverings. The Tennessee Supreme Court’s order to wear face coverings in certain government buildings will continue to apply, including public areas in the Sevier County Courthouse. Public areas of Sevier County government buildings, including the Sheriff’s office, libraries, and public works, will continue to have a face-covering requirement.
“While the mandate appears to have had a positive impact on COVID-19 in Sevier County, I said from the beginning this was a temporary order,” Waters said. “We urge our citizens and visitors to follow the Tennessee Pledge and CDC guidelines to keep our COVID-19 numbers low.”
“I appreciate the business community, our employees, citizens, and visitors for following the mandate. There are no further restrictions or closures on our local businesses from the state, and Sevier County continues to see excellent tourism numbers.”
The intent of the original mandate, Sevier County Executive Order 23, was to increase the wearing of face coverings to protect the health of residents, visitors, and employees and to ensure the state did not take further measures to disrupt local businesses and the economy.