NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — The epicenter of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Davidson County is now in the Southeast Nashville and Antioch communities, according to Metro’s coronavirus taskforce.

The weekly COVID-19 “heatmap” released by Metro’s coronavirus taskforce Tuesday shows the majority of current cases are located in the southern portion of Davidson County.

District leaders say there are a few reasons why.

Southeast Nashville has a high percentage of essential workers and several diverse immigrant communities. But most people who have to go to work don’t have personal protective equipment.

“I know one thing for sure, we don’t have enough access to PPE,” said Metro Councilmember for District 30, Sandra Sepulveda. “You have so many essential workers who do not have the proper protection, you go to the grocery store, people don’t have masks, they go to work at construction sites and they don’t have masks, we need employers to notify employees when someone is showing symptoms and have gone to get tested we need employers to provide PPE, we need construction sites to have enough handwashing stations.”

City leaders said it is important everyone has access to resources, which is why district leaders are translating Mayor John Cooper’s news conferences into Spanish and hold weekly calls with the taskforce to express their concerns.

“We’re having to deal with such a high concentration of these cases in Southeast Nashville that it’s a lot it’s a lot to have to deal with, any help that anyone can give us would be greatly appreciated, there is just a lot to do,” said Sepulveda.

The Metro Public Health Department is partnering with organizations to provide resources and education about the virus — even hiring community outreach workers. Click here to learn more.