LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- As Tennessee unveiled plans to begin reopening the state as soon as next week, some Kentuckians began to worry that it might have unintended consequences for the Commonwealth.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican, announced on Monday that he would not extend his stay-at-home order past April 30. He also said that some businesses could begin opening as soon as next week. 

"While the health outlook is showing signs of improvement, our economic outlook tells a very different story," Lee said. "Social distancing works and as we open up our economy, it will be more important than ever that we stay committed to that." 

Georgia more aggressively announced that some businesses would begin reopening this week. South Carolina and Ohio announced similar measures. Kentucky has yet to announce any timeline for when reopening might occur.

The announcement from Lee startled leaders in the southern part of Kentucky.

"We are 22 miles away from the border and one of the things we saw before governor Lee started shelter in place, some of the first cases we had in south central Kentucky were in the border counties," said Rep. Patti Minter, D-Bowling Green. 

Her worry is that if people from Tennessee begin moving about more freely or people in Kentucky travel to Tennessee to patronize businesses, it could mean more cases of the coronavirus for Kentuckians. 

"State lines are really useless when we're talking about controlling a global pandemic," Minter said. "People are moving back and forth across the border all the time."

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear has said repeatedly that he won't reopen the state's economy until he sees the number of new cases go down 14 days in a row. 

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