Mississippi health leaders recommend masks for personal protection
Published 5:30 pm Monday, April 6, 2020
- Paula Merritt / The Meridian StarRuby Williams, an employee at Mr. Discount Drugs on 14th Street, hands medicine to Debra Dearman as she sits in her truck Monday. State health officials are recommending that all residents wear locally-produced non-medical grade or homemade cloth masks when leaving home for essential functions.
The Mississippi State Department of Health is recommending that all residents wear locally-produced non-medical grade or homemade cloth masks when leaving home for essential functions.
Surgical or N95 masks should be saved for healthcare workers and first responders, the agency said in a news release.
The health department is also recommending that healthcare workers wear a manufactured or appropriate cloth mask throughout the workday.
The state remains under a shelter-in-place order by Gov. Tate Reeves.
Meridian Police Capt. John Griffith said local officials spent the first few days of the order educating members of the public and businesses, including some restaurants that were still permitting dine-in service.
“We feel like the majority of the people took it seriously and are somewhat adhering to the orders,” said Meridian Public Safety Director Doug Stephens.
Stephens said the city supports the recommendation for residents to wear cloth masks in public.
“We still want to emphasize the social distancing, when you do have to get out,” Stephens said.
Chief Deputy Ward Calhoun with the Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Department said deputies received a call early Sunday morning about someone tossing items from an overpass onto cars traveling on I-59.
A nearby deputy stopped a truck with several people in it and the driver, Dalton House of Collinsville, was charged with DUI and violating the state’s executive order related to COVID-19, Calhoun said.
The Lauderdale County Board of Supervisors voted Monday to extend the county’s state of emergency declaration to May 16.
MSDH reported 100 new cases of COVID-19 Monday, bringing the state’s total to 1,738.
Health officials confirmed eight additional deaths from the virus. A total of 51 people have died in Mississippi since the outbreak began.
Lauderdale County had 70 cases, two deaths, and three outbreaks at long-term care facilities in the latest update.
Officials have not identified the three facilities in Lauderdale County.
Anderson Regional Medical Center was hospitalizing 12 patients who have tested positive for COVID-19 as of Monday, according to its website. The patients are under strict isolation and close observation in accordance with MSDH and CDC guidelines, the hospital said.
Clarke County had eight cases, Kemper County had six cases, Neshoba County had 11 cases and Newton County had seven cases and one outbreak at a long-term care facility, according to MSDH.
State health officials reported that 20,370 people have been tested statewide, including testing done by the MSDH Public Health Laboratory and testing done by other providers.
Outbreaks in long-term care facilities (LTCs)
Long-term care (LTC) facilities like nursing homes are considered high risk locations because their residents are older or in poor health. Even one case of COVID-19 in these facilities among residents or employees is considered an outbreak. We investigate residents, staff and close contacts of infected individuals for possible exposure. The number of LTC facilities with outbreaks are shown for each county in the table below.
| County | Cases | Deaths | LTCs with Outbreaks |
| Adams | 19 | 1 | |
| Alcorn | 6 | ||
| Amite | 6 | 1 | 1 |
| Attala | 15 | ||
| Benton | 5 | ||
| Bolivar | 51 | 2 | 2 |
| Calhoun | 9 | 1 | |
| Carroll | 6 | ||
| Chickasaw | 15 | 2 | 1 |
| Choctaw | 8 | 1 | |
| Claiborne | 1 | ||
| Clarke | 8 | ||
| Clay | 9 | ||
| Coahoma | 29 | 1 | |
| Copiah | 16 | ||
| Covington | 6 | ||
| Desoto | 136 | 1 | |
| Forrest | 46 | 1 | 1 |
| Franklin | 5 | ||
| George | 5 | ||
| Greene | 1 | ||
| Grenada | 7 | ||
| Hancock | 30 | 1 | 2 |
| Harrison | 79 | 3 | 1 |
| Hinds | 158 | 2 | |
| Holmes | 23 | 2 | |
| Humphreys | 4 | 1 | |
| Itawamba | 4 | ||
| Jackson | 98 | 5 | 1 |
| Jasper | 3 | ||
| Jefferson | 3 | ||
| Jones | 13 | ||
| Kemper | 6 | ||
| Lafayette | 22 | 1 | |
| Lamar | 15 | ||
| Lauderdale | 70 | 2 | 3 |
| Lawrence | 5 | ||
| Leake | 11 | ||
| Lee | 30 | 2 | |
| Leflore | 23 | 4 | 1 |
| Lincoln | 18 | 1 | |
| Lowndes | 15 | ||
| Madison | 74 | 2 | 2 |
| Marion | 8 | 1 | |
| Marshall | 23 | 1 | 1 |
| Monroe | 16 | 1 | 2 |
| Montgomery | 11 | 1 | |
| Neshoba | 11 | ||
| Newton | 7 | 1 | |
| Noxubee | 5 | ||
| Oktibbeha | 27 | 2 | |
| Panola | 17 | 1 | |
| Pearl River | 52 | 2 | 2 |
| Perry | 14 | 1 | |
| Pike | 28 | 1 | |
| Pontotoc | 12 | 1 | |
| Prentiss | 10 | 1 | |
| Quitman | 7 | ||
| Rankin | 74 | 1 | |
| Scott | 23 | 1 | |
| Sharkey | 3 | ||
| Simpson | 6 | ||
| Smith | 11 | 1 | |
| Stone | 1 | ||
| Sunflower | 19 | 1 | |
| Tallahatchie | 3 | ||
| Tate | 16 | ||
| Tippah | 36 | 3 | |
| Tishomingo | 1 | ||
| Tunica | 18 | 1 | 1 |
| Union | 6 | 1 | |
| Walthall | 12 | ||
| Warren | 5 | 1 | |
| Washington | 38 | 1 | |
| Wayne | 5 | ||
| Webster | 12 | 1 | |
| Wilkinson | 30 | 3 | 1 |
| Winston | 15 | ||
| Yalobusha | 11 | ||
| Yazoo | 32 | 1 | |
| Total | 1,738 | 51 | 38 |
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
