After weeks of being restricted to curbside and delivery sales to prevent the spread of COVID-19, restaurant owners in Lauderdale County have been eager to reopen their dining rooms Thursday.

The restaurants are permitted to open with a list of restrictions under an executive order by Gov. Tate Reeves.

Customers will likely notice the changes, like masks on employees and extra spacing between tables. 

Weidmann’s Restaurant, Mugshots Grill & Bar, Nick & Al’s New York Style Pizzeria and The Rustler were among those preparing to reopen their seating areas Thursday, according to staff and social media posts. 

Harvest Grill planned to open Friday under the new guidelines, according to its Facebook page. 

The governor’s order requires a deep cleaning of the restaurant, daily screening of employees and customers, and face masks for employees in direct contact with customers.

Seating capacity must also be reduced to 50 percent and no more than six customers can sit at a table, according to the order.

In preparation for the new restrictions, Weidmann’s Restaurant has removed five tables from both the downstairs dining room and the upstairs bar and opened an additional dining room for more space, owner Charles Frazier said.

Customers won’t find any condiments on the table and will be provided disposable menus, Frazier said. 

The restaurant has added other safety measures, like 18 hand sanitizing stations and safety seals on to-go orders. 

“We’re ready to get back to our roots and to what’s contributed to our success in the past,” Frazier said.

At Mugshots Grill & Bar, General Manager Jamie Humphrey said he had missed his staff and customers and the restaurant was ready to open under the new restrictions. 

“I’m pretty excited and pretty pumped,” Humphrey said.

Jean’s owner Elic Purvis said the restaurant will continue to offer curbside takeout and delivery through Waitr and DoorDash, but the dining room will remain closed until further notice.

Under an executive order from the city of Meridian signed by Mayor Percy Bland Tuesday, all customers and employees inside Meridian businesses will be required to wear a mask and business owners may refuse any customers not wearing a mask.

Failing to comply with the order is punishable by a fine of up to $500 and/or 30 days in jail, the order states.

According to the city’s order, state and city parks may open on May 11 and 20 people will be allowed to gather for outdoor activities with social distancing.

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

Beauty parlors, barber shops, gyms, playgrounds and basketball courts remain closed, according to the city. 

State health officials reported 12 new cases of COVID-19 in Lauderdale County Wednesday, for a total of 448 and seven additional deaths, for a total of 40.

The county has the highest total of deaths and second highest total of cases in Mississippi, state records show.

Of the confirmed cases in the county, 111 are in long-term care facilities, according to the Mississippi State Department of Health.

As of Wednesday, Anderson Regional Medical Center was hospitalizing 25 patients who have tested positive for COVID-19.

Rush Foundation Hospital is not reporting daily hospitalizations.

Health officials reported 68 cases and six deaths in Clarke County, 80 cases and six deaths in Kemper County, 254 cases and 11 deaths in Neshoba County and 113 cases in Newton County.

MSDH confirmed 217 new cases of COVID-19 in Mississippi Wednesday, for a total of 8,424 and 32 additional deaths, for a total of 374. Five of the deaths were identified through death certificate investigation, MSDH said.

As of Monday, 80,308 people had been tested for COVID-19 in Mississippi, with nearly 20,000 from the past week, according to the state.

The University of Mississippi Medical Center said Thursday evening that a mobile testing site scheduled for Friday, May 8 in Quitman in Clarke County was canceled due to the threat of inclement weather.

The testing was previously scheduled to be held at the Clarke County Emergency Management Agency, 642 S. Archusa Ave.

A new date will be determined later, UMMC said.

Mississippi COVID-19 Cases to Date

Table of all total cases and deaths, and those in long-term care (LTC) facilities, since March 11, 2020.

County	Total Cases	Total Deaths	Total LTC Facility Cases	Total LTC Facility Deaths
Adams	154	10	33	4
Alcorn	10	1	0	0
Amite	32	0	1	0
Attala	159	3	38	3
Benton	12	0	1	0
Bolivar	115	8	16	2
Calhoun	57	4	23	4
Carroll	102	3	39	2
Chickasaw	83	9	25	6
Choctaw	14	2	0	0
Claiborne	33	0	0	0
Clarke	68	6	11	3
Clay	58	3	0	0
Coahoma	70	3	0	0
Copiah	137	1	2	1
Covington	82	0	0	0
Desoto	310	4	1	1
Forrest	273	17	23	9
Franklin	17	1	0	0
George	15	1	0	0
Greene	6	1	0	0
Grenada	41	2	14	2
Hancock	68	5	6	3
Harrison	187	6	1	1
Hinds	588	11	18	6
Holmes	176	12	27	3
Humphreys	27	4	7	2
Itawamba	65	6	32	5
Jackson	271	10	39	2
Jasper	66	2	0	0
Jefferson	26	0	0	0
Jefferson Davis	45	1	2	0
Jones	199	4	16	0
Kemper	80	6	19	3
Lafayette	96	3	36	0
Lamar	127	3	1	0
Lauderdale	448	40	111	25
Lawrence	61	0	1	0
Leake	257	2	0	0
Lee	73	4	5	0
Leflore	177	18	44	8
Lincoln	166	12	54	8
Lowndes	64	3	7	2
Madison	318	11	41	8
Marion	77	7	14	2
Marshall	49	2	0	0
Monroe	178	20	89	18
Montgomery	51	1	0	0
Neshoba	254	11	27	3
Newton	113	0	1	0
Noxubee	92	2	9	2
Oktibbeha	59	4	11	3
Panola	42	2	0	0
Pearl River	183	21	41	6
Perry	32	1	0	0
Pike	159	9	13	4
Pontotoc	22	2	4	0
Prentiss	33	2	20	2
Quitman	16	0	0	0
Rankin	226	6	6	0
Scott	410	3	9	1
Sharkey	5	0	0	0
Simpson	55	0	2	0
Smith	92	6	23	3
Stone	23	0	0	0
Sunflower	61	3	0	0
Tallahatchie	12	1	0	0
Tate	45	0	1	0
Tippah	61	10	0	0
Tishomingo	8	0	1	0
Tunica	37	2	12	2
Union	40	2	10	1
Walthall	36	0	0	0
Warren	90	2	11	0
Washington	80	3	4	1
Wayne	26	0	1	0
Webster	21	1	0	0
Wilkinson	72	7	5	2
Winston	53	0	0	0
Yalobusha	23	0	0	0
Yazoo	155	2	0	0
Total	8,424	374	1,008	163

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