Coronavirus live updates: What to know on the Mississippi Coast for March 16

For the latest updates from Thursday, March 19, click here.

5:08 p.m.

Mississippi Superintendent Carey Wright has made a recommendation to the State Board of Education that state and federal assessment and accountability requirements be suspended for the 2019-20 school year. MDE will seek the maximum authority and waivers afforded by the U.S. Department of Education and other federal agencies.

4:55 p.m.

Attendance at Tuesday’s Biloxi City Council meetings will be limited to those with pending business before the council. The meetings are recorded and replayed on the city’s YouTube channel on demand, and on BTV daily at 9 a.m., 3 p.m. and 9 p.m.

Tonight’s Ward 6 meeting will be televised without an audience and replayed on the city’s channels.

4 p.m.

Sparklight, formerly known as Cable One, announced it is opening hot spots with wireless internet available to the public at the following locations:

• 12261 Hwy 49, Suite 8 in Gulfport
• 19201 Pineville Road in Long Beach
• 5100 MacPhelah Road in Pascagoula

The company also is offering unlimited data available on all internet services for 30 days starting March 13, as well as payment deferrals and waiving late fees for its customers for 60 days. The company plans to reassess after 30 days.

3:45 p.m.

The Mississippi Gaming Commission announced all casinos will close indefinitely starting at midnight.

3:30 p.m.

Gov. Tate Reeves said via remote press conference that the president said the U.S. should now limit gatherings to 10.

He said 4,600 COVID-19 cases have been reported in the U.S.

“West Virginia is the only state in the nation that hasn’t had a confirmed case,” he said, but he expects that to change.

He called on schools to close, he said. “Please respect federal guidelines,” he said, and practice safety and hygiene.

Even if you are healthy, you need to protect your friends and neighbors, he said.

He is activating the National Guard to work primarily at coronavirus testing centers. He believes all state agencies should determine who is essential and send all others home, and for others to do the same.

Reeves said he will encourage schools to set up distance learning operations for students, and he will tell schools to keep operating free and reduced meals.

He said there will be paid leave for any state or local officials missing work due to the new coronavirus. State legislators will make sure it applies to all government employees, including schools.

He hopes this will be an example to others in private sector, he said.

State Emergency operations Center is operating at Level 1 for the first time since Hurricane Katrina. That is the seriousness with which we are approaching this virus, he said.

Don’t overreact, but don’t take risks, he said. The biggest risk is that we overwhelm our medical facilities, he said.

3 p.m.

Gov. Tate Reeves, Dr. Thomas Dobbs, state health officer, and Greg Michel, director of Mississippi Emergency Management, held a press conference to give updates on the spread of new coronavirus.

Reeves wasn’t in conference room, but is spoke from governor’s mansion as he and his family are self-quarantining after being in Spain.

Officials say:

• 12 cases now in Mississippi.
• President Trump today limited the number of public gatherings to 10.
• Mississippi is not yet asking businesses to close.
• There’s been no decision to extend school closures past this week.
• Clinics should cancel all unnecessary tests, and elective surgery procedures should be delayed at hospitals and clinics.
• Out of 289 tests done by the state, 12 were positive. The others had other, more common respiratory illnesses.

Dobbs said the state can do about 200 tests a day and there are no backups. The intensive care units in the Jackson area run pretty full all the time, he said.

Quarantine is someone who may have exposure and is “chilling out at the house,” he said. Isolation is someone who has symptoms.

Drive-by clinics are already in the works by private clinics, Dobb said. He doesn’t know what areas, but it is a practice the state is encouraging, he said. FEMA also is preparing to offer pop-up clinics in hard-hit areas, he said.

“The only people that need testing are sick people,” he said.

Casinos and bars in New Orleans have been ordered closed by officials beginning Tuesday, according to a report from Nola.com.

2:40 p.m.

The Center for Disease Control just updated its count of reported confirmed and presumptive positive cases coronavirus cases in the U.S.

The last report was on Friday. Since then, the number of cases has risen to 3,487, an increase of 1,858.

The number of deaths in the U.S. from the coronavirus increased by 30 in 3 days and now stands at 71.

12:35 update

Louisiana’s 20 casinos are closing for two weeks, starting at midnight. Decisions about Coast casinos had not yet been made. The Mississippi Gaming Commission is expected to meet this week.

12:30 p.m. update

With the CDC now advising gatherings of no more than 50 people, more cancellations and closings were announced today.

Among them are: The Gulf Coast Winter Classic horse show in Harrison County has ended, two weeks early.

Infinity Science Center will close until April 1.

Harrison County libraries will close Tuesday through Saturday, March 17-21. That could be extended and fines will not accumulate during the closures.

Pascagoula is canceling courts for 2 weeks.

11 a.m. update

Two new coronavirus cases were confirmed Monday by the Mississippi State Department of Health — one in Pearl River County and one in Monroe County.

Two previous cases had been reported in Pearl River County, but on Monday the health department said one of them was actually from Hancock County.

The Sun Herald reported Hancock County’s first case is a 74-year-old woman who was tested in Louisiana.

Pearl River and Hancock counties border Louisiana, where there are 144 positive cases and two deaths so far.

Mississippi now has 12 cases, and 289 people have been tested so far.

Gov. Tate Reeves and other officials will hold a press conference at 3 p.m.

Cities and counties are declaring local emergencies, which allows access to federal funding.

The Harrison County Board of Supervisors also has declared a state of emergency.

This story will update with the latest updates from Monday, March 16.

5 a.m.

MGM Resorts, owner of Beau Rivage Resort & Casino, announced on Sunday that they were closing all of their Las Vegas properties as COVID-19 cases multiply in the U.S.

Sunday

President Donald Trump announced the Centers for Disease control recommend canceling all public events of 50 people or larger. That does not apply to the day-to-day operations of schools and businesses.

Three cruise ships docked at Gulfport and Ship Island. One ship made headlines after an Ohio passenger was later confirmed with COVID-19.

Mississippi State Board of Medical Licensure is encouraging the use of tele-medicine to limit unnecessary travel. Typically only physicians with a Mississippi medical license are allowed to practice tele-medicine in the state, but the Board decided Sunday it will not enforce any rules requiring a physical examination to issue prescriptions. Also, any out-of-state physicians must contact the Board to secure authorization to practice tele-medicine.

Submit your update by emailing mynews@sunherald.com

This story was originally published March 16, 2020 at 11:34 AM.