Reeves

Gov. Tate Reeves announced on Monday new COVID-19 measures for nine counties, including Neshoba County.

The other counties include Chickasaw, Claiborne, DeSoto, Forrest, Itawamba, Jackson, Lamar and Lee. 

A new executive order says people in those counties have to wear masks when they are indoors and interacting with the public, but cannot social distance, Reeves said in a press conference.

He also said that social gatherings in the counties must be limited to 10 people when they are held indoors and 50 people when they are outdoors.

“As we wait for a vaccine, our mission is the same as it ever was,” he said. “It’s to prevent our health care system from becoming overwhelmed.”

The order also requires hospitals to reserve 10% of their capacity for COVID-19 patients. If a hospital does not have 10% capacity available, it would have to postpone elective procedures.

Reeves said the number of COVID-19 patients in the hospital is lower than during Mississippi’s peak in the summer. However, the overall number of people in the hospital, which includes those who are hospitalized for reasons other than COVID-19, is still elevated. And COVID-19 hospitalizations are increasing, he said. 

“From an aggregate standpoint,” he said, “we know we have to take the necessary steps to prepare for what could come over the next four to eight weeks.”

State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs said in a news briefing on Friday that there has been “some pretty significant increase in cases” in Mississippi.

“Sadly we’ve seen a softening of our communal resolve to do what it takes to prevent coronavirus transmission,” he said.

The Mississippi State Department of Health reported on Monday 586 new cases of COVID-19 and no new deaths, bringing the state’s totals to 110,592 cases and 3,171 deaths.

Some of the cases were reported as of Saturday and some were reported as of Sunday. The department did not release its new COVID-19 numbers on Sunday.

Fifteen cases and no new deaths were reported in Lauderdale County, where 2,344 cases and 130 related deaths have been reported since the state began tracking the virus in March.

In Newton County, no new cases were reported; the county has reported 842 cases since March. No new deaths were reported; 27 deaths have been reported since March.

In Kemper County, two new cases were reported, bringing the total to 318. No new deaths were reported; 15 deaths have been reported since March.

Clarke County reported five new cases, leading to a total of 714 cases. No new deaths were reported; 48 deaths have been reported since March.

In Neshoba County, eleven new cases were reported, bringing the case total to 1,806 cases. No new deaths were reported; 111 deaths have been reported since March.

The Department of Health presumes 97,675 people have recovered from COVID-19. The department also reported that there are 127 ongoing outbreaks of COVID-19 in long-term-care facilities. 

Case count

County	Total Cases	Total Deaths	Total LTC Facility Cases	Total LTC Facility Deaths
Adams	1043	42	59	13
Alcorn	955	12	18	2
Amite	415	13	15	2
Attala	765	25	90	20
Benton	305	4	14	0
Bolivar	1980	75	217	30
Calhoun	609	12	25	4
Carroll	460	12	45	9
Chickasaw	820	24	44	13
Choctaw	203	6	1	0
Claiborne	532	16	43	9
Clarke	714	48	93	25
Clay	672	21	19	3
Coahoma	1231	36	87	6
Copiah	1346	36	71	7
Covington	916	25	35	10
De Soto	6636	77	80	16
Forrest	2951	77	176	41
Franklin	230	3	4	1
George	935	17	36	6
Greene	453	17	40	6
Grenada	1201	37	113	20
Hancock	769	27	41	6
Harrison	4811	81	255	32
Hinds	7751	171	463	74
Holmes	1132	60	101	20
Humphreys	399	16	21	6
Issaquena	106	3	0	0
Itawamba	1090	24	87	17
Jackson	4319	78	87	8
Jasper	666	16	1	0
Jefferson	263	10	13	3
Jefferson Davis	394	11	5	1
Jones	2831	82	183	37
Kemper	318	15	41	9
Lafayette	2417	42	123	28
Lamar	2149	38	39	11
Lauderdale	2344	130	261	74
Lawrence	495	14	26	2
Leake	1122	39	35	5
Lee	3413	79	180	37
Leflore	1600	86	193	47
Lincoln	1348	54	158	32
Lowndes	1739	62	98	33
Madison	3717	92	238	45
Marion	932	42	92	14
Marshall	1326	26	44	10
Monroe	1448	72	170	52
Montgomery	527	23	52	9
Neshoba	1806	111	130	39
Newton	842	27	39	9
Noxubee	595	16	20	4
Oktibbeha	1946	54	193	31
Panola	1651	36	43	6
Pearl River	1082	56	93	22
Perry	480	22	20	7
Pike	1364	55	97	27
Pontotoc	1435	19	16	2
Prentiss	1016	19	48	3
Quitman	413	6	0	0
Rankin	3808	86	173	23
Scott	1232	29	21	3
Sharkey	277	14	43	8
Simpson	1181	48	117	19
Smith	581	16	54	8
Stone	450	14	55	9
Sunflower	1574	49	82	14
Tallahatchie	818	25	29	7
Tate	1127	39	51	13
Tippah	851	20	56	0
Tishomingo	790	40	96	26
Tunica	518	17	15	2
Union	1139	25	46	11
Walthall	633	27	67	13
Warren	1521	54	119	25
Washington	2514	97	159	38
Wayne	985	21	59	10
Webster	365	13	52	11
Wilkinson	329	20	20	5
Winston	815	21	42	11
Yalobusha	484	14	36	7
Yazoo	1172	33	83	12
Total	110,592	3,171	6,506	1,280