67 COVID-19 cases reported at East Mississippi State Hospital

Published 5:00 pm Wednesday, April 29, 2020

Healthcare facilities in the city of Meridian have reported dozens of cases of COVID-19 this week, as some businesses take steps to reopen their doors and city employees begin testing for the virus.

The Mississippi Department of Mental Health has confirmed 67 cases of COVID-19 at East Mississippi State Hospital, including 36 staff members and 31 people receiving services at the hospital who tested positive.

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As of Wednesday afternoon, five clients served in nursing homes operated by the hospital have died, DMH reported. 

“Upon identifying a positive patient at EMSH, they are immediately moved from the unit to the BASAC D gym building, where classrooms have been converted to isolation rooms in an effort to contain the spread,” said Director of Communications, Adam Moore in a statement. “Upon identifying a positive patient at the nursing home division, they are immediately moved from their room to Wisteria Hall, which was converted into an isolation unit where they will be treated.”

On Wednesday, Anderson Regional Medical Center was hospitalizing 31 patients who have tested positive for COVID-19, more than double the daily number of patients hospitalized there a week earlier, according to Anderson’s website.

Rush Foundation Hospital is not providing daily hospitalization numbers.

The Mississippi State Department of Health confirmed 16 new cases of COVID-19 in Lauderdale County Wednesday, for a total of 334, the second highest in the state.

Of those cases, health officials report 75 are in long-term care or residential care facilities.

MSDH records show 19 people from Lauderdale County have died from COVID-19, including 11 who lived in long-term care or residential facilities.

The health department confirmed 227 new cases in Mississippi Wednesday, for a total of 6,569 and 11 additional deaths, for a total of 250.

As of Tuesday, MSDH reported that 430 people were hospitalized in Mississippi.

Across the state, 66,094 people have been tested for COVID-19 as of Tuesday, according to MSDH.

Employees for the city of Meridian have begun getting tested for COVID-19 at city hall, as part of a partnership with Greater Meridian Health Clinic.

The 450 full- and part-time employees will be tested over the course of two weeks and are being asked to wear masks in their work places and have their temperature checked, Mayor Percy Bland said.

He said employees may be re-tested in 120 days.

“We just want to set the tone and set the model for a lot of the businesses, a lot of the people that are going back to work, to try to provide the safest work environment for our team members,” Bland said.