Citing concerns over the spread of COVID-19, the City of Meridian on Friday said it will reschedule the annual Juneteenth and July 4 celebrations. 

Citing concerns over the spread of COVID-19, the city of Meridian said Friday it will reschedule the annual Juneteenth and July 4 celebrations.

Dates for both celebrations will be announced later.

The decision was made in accordance with the current “Safer at Home” health order issued by Gov. Tate Reeves and after consulting with local health and city officials, according to a news release.

The city still plans to celebrate Juneteenth Heritage during the month by bringing the community together through special programs.

“Our goal is to emphasize black history heritage and education, and plan for the future for people of all races, nationalities, and religions,” Mayor Percy Bland said.

Plans for celebrating the Fourth of July will include flying American flags and encouraging local businesses to decorate their storefronts for the holiday. The Earth’s Bounty Festival is also scheduled for 8 a.m. to noon on July 4 at Singing Brakeman Park. Discharging fireworks within the city limits of Meridian is prohibited.

“It was a very difficult decision,” said Community Development Director Laura Carmichael. “These are some of the largest celebrations we have. Of course we are concerned about large numbers gathering, but we’re going to announce later some very exciting events.”

Beginning Saturday, June 13, Meridian’s nightly curfew will be pushed back two hours and will be in effect from 11 p.m. until 6 a.m., Chief Administrative Officer Eddie Kelly said.

The curfew will be effective at 9 p.m. each night for anyone under 18.

“We think that that’s going to help our businesses, the ones that are staying open past 10:00 and it’ll give them another opportunity to grow their businesses that way,” Kelly said.

The curfew will remain in effect for a week and may be extended weekly.

City leaders remain concerned about COVID-19 and encourage everyone to wear masks inside businesses, Kelly said.

“That’s one of the most important things we as individual citizens can do to help ourselves and help each other.”

The Mississippi State Department of Health reported the number of cases of COVID-19 in Lauderdale County increased by six over two days, bringing the total to 801. 

The total includes all reported cases since March 11, but does not reflect those who may have recovered. 

Thursday’s data was not available until Friday. 

MSDH reported one additional death, bringing the county’s total number of deaths to 75. 

Anderson Regional Health System announced Friday that it has discontinued reporting COVID-19 hospitalization data.

“The hospitalization data was important at the beginning of the pandemic to be transparent and keep the public informed in order to slow the spread of the virus,” a statement on the website reads. “However, COVID-19 will have a presence for the foreseeable future.”

Rush Foundation Hospital has not been reporting daily COVID-19 hospitalizations. 

MSDH reported 608 new cases of COVID-19 and 13 additional deaths in Mississippi over a two-day period.

The new data brings the state’s total number of cases to 19,091 and total number of deaths to 881. 

Records show that as of Thursday, the number of Mississippians hospitalized with COVID-19 had risen to 486, with 172 patients receiving intensive care. 

Cases and Deaths by County

Note: Long-term care information for Friday is not yet available.

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

County	Total Cases	Total Deaths
Adams	225	17
Alcorn	28	1
Amite	67	2
Attala	328	23
Benton	17	0
Bolivar	185	11
Calhoun	77	4
Carroll	122	11
Chickasaw	163	15
Choctaw	62	2
Claiborne	138	7
Clarke	165	21
Clay	169	5
Coahoma	145	4
Copiah	388	6
Covington	201	2
Desoto	694	12
Forrest	672	41
Franklin	30	2
George	35	2
Greene	49	2
Grenada	153	4
Hancock	98	12
Harrison	319	7
Hinds	1245	27
Holmes	463	32
Humphreys	80	8
Issaquena	0	0
Itawamba	99	8
Jackson	344	16
Jasper	190	4
Jefferson	52	2
Jefferson Davis	84	3
Jones	845	37
Kemper	167	12
Lafayette	169	4
Lamar	287	5
Lauderdale	801	75
Lawrence	115	1
Leake	478	15
Lee	287	11
Leflore	350	44
Lincoln	316	32
Lowndes	311	9
Madison	864	30
Marion	137	9
Marshall	98	3
Monroe	291	25
Montgomery	93	1
Neshoba	855	50
Newton	320	6
Noxubee	212	6
Oktibbeha	348	17
Panola	118	3
Pearl River	219	31
Perry	53	3
Pike	220	11
Pontotoc	70	3
Prentiss	65	3
Quitman	39	0
Rankin	529	10
Scott	685	12
Sharkey	8	0
Simpson	117	1
Smith	173	11
Stone	34	0
Sunflower	113	4
Tallahatchie	39	1
Tate	123	1
Tippah	92	11
Tishomingo	44	0
Tunica	62	3
Union	96	8
Walthall	97	1
Warren	245	12
Washington	236	8
Wayne	373	7
Webster	109	8
Wilkinson	85	9
Winston	143	2
Yalobusha	136	7
Yazoo	337	6
Total	19,091	881

Case Classifications