Mississippi COVID-19 map posted Friday, May 8, 2020.

Gov. Tate Reeves announced Friday that barber shops, salons and gyms may reopen Monday at 8 a.m. with certain restrictions to prevent the spread of COVID-19. 

Under a new executive order, salons and barber shops must be deep-cleaned daily and customers must wait in their vehicles until their appointment time and be screened before entering.

Chairs must be arranged to ensure six feet between customers and only one customer per employee is allowed in the salon at a time. 

Employees must be screened and those in contact with customers must wear masks and gloves, the order states. Customers must also wear masks unless it would interfere with a service they’re receiving. 

Kristi Watkins, owner of K Salon on Highway 39, was already at her salon Friday afternoon, where a cleaning company was at work.

“I’ve just been cleaning, cleaning, cleaning,” Watkins said. “I’m super pumped and super excited.”

As she spoke, the salon’s phone rang in the background.

Watkins said clients had already been calling to set up appointments.

“The number one priority is safety for all of our clients,” Watkins said.

Under the governor’s order, gyms must be deep-cleaned and may open at no more than 30% capacity.

Employees in contact with customers must wear masks, and equipment and exercise classes must be arranged to keep six feet between customers. 

Reeves extended his Safer At Home Order for another two weeks until 8 a.m. on Monday, May 25.

The Mississippi State Department of Health confirmed 404 new cases of COVID-19 in Mississippi Friday, the highest daily total since the outbreak began. 

The new cases bring the state’s total to 9,090.

MSDH reported 13 additional deaths in Mississippi, for a total of 409 deaths statewide. Three of the reported deaths occurred in prior weeks and were identified through death certificate investigation, according to MSDH. 

State health officials reported 13 new cases of COVID-19 in Lauderdale County Friday, for a total of 463 and one additional death, for a total of 41.

Records show 25 of the people from the county who have died from the virus lived in long-term care facilities.

As of Friday, Anderson Regional Medical Center was hospitalizing 25 people who have tested positive for COVID-19, according to the hospital’s website. 

Rush Foundation Hospital is not reporting daily COVID-19 hospitalizations. 

Meridian Mayor Percy Bland revised an executive order Thursday that stated that those who do not wear masks inside city businesses could face up to a $500 fine and/or 30 days in jail.

Bland said in an update on Facebook that he had discussed the matter at length with the city attorney and had decided to remove the fine and jail time from the order.

He said the order was never intended to put requirements on the individuals entering businesses.

Despite the change, during his Facebook update, Bland repeatedly asked the public to wear masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The revised order maintains the same language from the original order signed Tuesday regarding those inside city businesses.

It states that “the requirements to wear face coverings or masks shall apply to all persons, whether employees or customers or clients of businesses within the City.”

“We want you to call us, either code enforcement office or Meridian Police Department if it is anyone that you do not want to be served in your business if they’re not wearing a mask,” Bland said Thursday. “It is clear that two people wearing a mask greatly reduces the spread of this virus.”

In-house dining was allowed to continue at 50 percent capacity at restaurants in Mississippi Thursday, under an executive order with a list of restrictions by Gov. Tate Reeves.

A nightly curfew in Meridian remains in effect from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. until May 31.

The mayor said that while in-housing dining would end at 10 p.m. at all restaurants, drive-thru services would be allowed after 9 p.m.

State and city parks may open to the public between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m., starting Monday, May 11, and a maximum of 20 people may gather outside with social distancing, under a city of Meridian order.

State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs said in a news conference Thursday that Kemper, Neshoba and Newton Counties are among 12 counties with the most cases per capita over the past two weeks.

State data shows 89 cases and six deaths in Kemper County, 287 cases and 12 deaths in Neshoba County and 130 cases in Newton County.

Cases and Deaths by County

Totals of all reported cases since March 11, including those in long-term care (LTC) facilities.

County	Total Cases	Total Deaths	Total LTC Facility Cases	Total LTC Facility Deaths
Adams	157	11	38	5
Alcorn	10	1	0	0
Amite	33	0	1	0
Attala	182	4	42	4
Benton	13	0	1	0
Bolivar	118	8	16	2
Calhoun	57	4	23	4
Carroll	97	4	44	3
Chickasaw	88	10	25	6
Choctaw	15	2	0	0
Claiborne	37	0	0	0
Clarke	77	7	12	3
Clay	64	3	0	0
Coahoma	71	3	0	0
Copiah	152	2	2	1
Covington	88	1	0	0
Desoto	325	5	1	1
Forrest	294	20	36	9
Franklin	17	1	0	0
George	15	1	0	0
Greene	6	1	0	0
Grenada	45	2	14	2
Hancock	72	9	6	3
Harrison	193	6	1	1
Hinds	657	11	51	6
Holmes	196	17	28	6
Humphreys	28	4	7	2
Itawamba	67	6	32	5
Jackson	273	11	39	2
Jasper	84	2	0	0
Jefferson	30	0	0	0
Jefferson Davis	51	1	2	0
Jones	223	4	19	0
Kemper	89	6	21	3
Lafayette	98	3	36	0
Lamar	141	4	3	2
Lauderdale	463	41	112	25
Lawrence	63	0	1	0
Leake	286	2	0	0
Lee	77	4	5	0
Leflore	182	18	44	8
Lincoln	179	12	55	8
Lowndes	73	3	7	2
Madison	404	12	42	9
Marion	82	7	14	2
Marshall	52	2	0	0
Monroe	191	20	91	18
Montgomery	65	1	0	0
Neshoba	287	12	28	4
Newton	130	0	1	0
Noxubee	100	2	9	2
Oktibbeha	73	4	11	3
Panola	43	2	0	0
Pearl River	189	24	42	6
Perry	32	1	0	0
Pike	163	10	14	5
Pontotoc	22	2	4	0
Prentiss	33	2	20	2
Quitman	16	0	0	0
Rankin	238	6	6	0
Scott	438	6	9	1
Sharkey	5	0	0	0
Simpson	60	0	2	0
Smith	99	6	25	3
Stone	23	0	0	0
Sunflower	63	3	0	0
Tallahatchie	12	1	0	0
Tate	49	0	1	0
Tippah	63	10	0	0
Tishomingo	9	0	1	0
Tunica	38	2	12	2
Union	42	3	12	2
Walthall	37	0	0	0
Warren	94	2	11	0
Washington	80	3	4	1
Wayne	27	0	2	0
Webster	21	1	0	0
Wilkinson	74	9	5	2
Winston	61	0	0	0
Yalobusha	27	0	0	0
Yazoo	162	2	1	0
Total	9,090	409	1,091	175

The numbers in this table are provisional. County case numbers and deaths may change as investigation finds new or additional information about residence.

–Mississippi Department of Health