Gov. Tate Reeves placed Kemper County under a mask mandate on Tuesday.

“This is a dangerous time,” Reeves said in a Tuesday afternoon press conference. “We all need to adjust our behavior accordingly.”

He said wearing masks helps prevent transmission of the novel coronavirus. Avoiding large social gatherings helps, too, he said.

Reeves added 13 counties to the list of counties with additional COVID-19 safety measures. The newly added counties include Kemper, Quitman, Jefferson, Franklin, Noxubee, Amite, Coahoma, Sunflower, Scott, Adams, Oktibbeha, Monroe and Washington. The list already included Lauderdale and Neshoba counties.

State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs emphasized in a press briefing Tuesday morning that there are restrictions on social events in the counties on the list.

Indoor social gatherings in the counties must be limited to 10 people, and outdoor social gatherings must be limited to 50.

People in the counties must wear a mask when they are indoors and interacting with the public, but cannot social distance.

Dobbs said masks do not work when people do not wear them. People do not wear masks when they are eating with their friends, are at a dinner party or are with their families at home, he said.

“Now, we have to be around our families at home, but we don’t have to go to a dinner party and we don’t have to go to eat with friends and go out and eat,” he said. “We just don’t.”

State epidemiologist Dr. Paul Byers said that there have been steady increases in COVID-19 cases over the last several weeks in Mississippi.

“And now, we have either equaled or actually getting a little bit higher than the large peak of activity we had over the summer months,” he said.

The City of Meridian is under a mask mandate that remains in effect until the end of the year. At Tuesday’s City Council meeting, Ward 3 councilwoman Fannie Johnson urged the public to take COVID-19 seriously.

“Please, please, please take it seriously,” she said. “Wear your mask, wear it correctly, and consider what can happen to other people, not just yourself.”

Ward 4 councilwoman Kim Houston advised those gathering with their family to practice social distancing and wear a mask.

“Please be careful even when you’re fellowshipping within, amongst family and friends,” she said. “COVID is very real.”

The Mississippi State Department of Health reported on Tuesday 1,141 new cases of COVID-19 in Mississippi and 29 additional deaths, bringing the state’s totals to 154,411 cases and 3,836 deaths.

On Tuesday, MSDH reported 19 new cases of COVID-19 in Lauderdale County and no additional deaths, bringing the county’s totals to 3,594 cases and 147 COVID-19 related deaths since March.

Two new cases were reported in Newton County, which has had a total of 1,082 cases since March. No new deaths were reported; the county has had 29 COVID-19 related deaths since March.

In Kemper County, three new cases were reported; 450 cases have been reported since March. No new deaths were reported; 18 COVID-19 related deaths have been reported in the county since March.

Clarke County reported six new cases, bringing the case total to 936. No new deaths were reported; the county has had 53 COVID-19 related deaths since March.

In Neshoba County, eight new cases were reported; the county’s case total is 2,249. Three new deaths were reported; 121 COVID-19 related deaths have been reported since March.

COVID-19 data for Mississippi counties

County	Total Cases	Total Deaths	Total LTC Facility Cases	Total LTC Facility Deaths
Adams	1447	52	64	14
Alcorn	1556	28	88	13
Amite	566	15	15	2
Attala	1193	34	125	23
Benton	500	18	44	10
Bolivar	2443	84	222	30
Calhoun	787	13	25	4
Carroll	741	15	45	9
Chickasaw	1094	32	48	14
Choctaw	361	7	1	0
Claiborne	589	16	43	9
Clarke	936	53	93	27
Clay	947	27	20	3
Coahoma	1527	43	127	11
Copiah	1679	40	71	9
Covington	1286	39	69	16
De Soto	10409	104	103	20
Forrest	3897	86	185	41
Franklin	355	5	4	1
George	1283	25	47	6
Greene	615	22	40	6
Grenada	1433	45	117	21
Hancock	1243	41	67	12
Harrison	7313	112	352	38
Hinds	10279	202	546	82
Holmes	1334	61	102	20
Humphreys	547	19	33	8
Issaquena	120	4	0	0
Itawamba	1576	35	91	17
Jackson	6566	128	183	20
Jasper	852	23	1	0
Jefferson	371	12	15	3
Jefferson Davis	590	17	8	1
Jones	3690	88	188	38
Kemper	450	18	41	9
Lafayette	3382	53	150	32
Lamar	2978	50	43	12
Lauderdale	3594	147	323	79
Lawrence	738	14	26	2
Leake	1397	44	43	7
Lee	5294	96	200	39
Leflore	2085	91	196	48
Lincoln	1973	66	166	36
Lowndes	2470	64	116	34
Madison	5014	107	295	53
Marion	1194	46	105	15
Marshall	2228	51	58	15
Monroe	2067	78	176	52
Montgomery	769	26	53	9
Neshoba	2249	121	157	45
Newton	1082	29	47	10
Noxubee	727	17	21	4
Oktibbeha	2523	62	193	31
Panola	2326	53	60	11
Pearl River	1553	68	103	23
Perry	683	26	20	7
Pike	1653	59	98	27
Pontotoc	2042	31	19	2
Prentiss	1513	31	87	10
Quitman	500	7	0	0
Rankin	5887	106	226	31
Scott	1594	30	30	3
Sharkey	324	17	43	8
Simpson	1526	53	138	19
Smith	732	16	55	8
Stone	806	15	58	9
Sunflower	1926	55	84	15
Tallahatchie	981	27	31	7
Tate	1777	51	71	18
Tippah	1284	30	61	4
Tishomingo	1124	43	96	26
Tunica	626	19	15	2
Union	1719	26	46	11
Walthall	776	29	67	13
Warren	1802	58	125	26
Washington	3246	108	187	39
Wayne	1213	23	59	10
Webster	467	14	52	11
Wilkinson	405	22	20	5
Winston	1255	26	64	13
Yalobusha	731	28	81	20
Yazoo	1601	40	137	15
Total	154,411	3,836	7,724	1,453

The Department of Health presumes 128,746 people have recovered from COVID-19. The department also reported that there are 200 ongoing outbreaks of COVID-19 in long-term-care facilities.