Coronavirus live updates: 3rd COVID-19 death reported in Mississippi, plus new guidelines
6:30
WXXV reports a team member that worked at the Gulfport Chick-fil-A on Highway 49 has been in close contact with someone diagnosed with COVID-19.
The station reports that a team member started to experience symptoms similar to the coronavirus and the Chick-fil-A franchise operator took a precautionary step and closed the restaurant. There will be a deep cleaning and disinfecting of the restaurant.
Chris McKlveen, Franchise Operator of Chick-fil-A Gulfport released this statement to WXXV:
“As our nation and community deal with coronavirus, our focus remains on two priorities: caring for our restaurant Team Members and Guests and doing our part to help limit the spread of the virus. Although no Team Members at the restaurant have a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19, we made the decision to temporarily close Chick-fil-A Gulfport after one of our Team Members started experiencing symptoms and has been in close contact with someone who has a confirmed diagnosis. We made this decision as a precautionary measure and will provide an update on reopening as soon as it is available.”
The D’Iberville and Biloxi Edgewater Mall Chick-fil-a have no plans to close at this time and remain open.
6:20 p.m.
The Mississippi State Department of Health reported two additional death Wednesday from the coronavirus bringing Mississippi’s total deaths to five
A Wilkinson County man that was 85-90 years old with underlying conditions died while hospitalized, and a 75-80 Tunica County woman died in a long-term care facility.
3:30 p.m.
The Mississippi State Department of Health confirmed a third person has died from the new coronavirus in Mississippi. A 65-70 year-old man from Webster County died in the hospital. MSDH said the man had underlying health conditions.
Mississippi has reported 377 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with previous deaths reported in Hancock and Holmes counties.
2 p.m.
Keesler Air Force Base reports three positive cases of coronavirus. The three — an active duty airman, another is a spouse of a sister member and the third is a retiree — are in isolation.
Col. Heather Blackwell, commander of the 81st Training Wing at Keesler, said these cases are a reminder we to be diligent with social distancing and washing hands
The Seabee base in Gulfport also has reported three positive cases and Ingalls Shipbuilding two cases.
12:06 p.m.
Across the United States, the number of new cases of coronavirus slowed slightly on Wednesday, but the death rate increased.
The daily report from the Center for Disease Control Wednesday shows 54,453 cases nationwide, a one-day increase of 10,270. That was 510 fewer new cases than on Tuesday, when the CDC reported 10,780 new cases.
The CDC reported 737 deaths in the country from the virus, an increase of 193 over Tuesday.
Two weeks ago on March 11 there were 938 cases and 29 deaths from the coronavirus in the U.S.
10:06 a.m.
Two weeks since the first case of coronavirus was reported in Mississippi, 57 new cases and one death were reported by the state Health Department today, with 3 new cases on the Coast.
The total now stands at 377 cases and two deaths statewide.
Jackson County had two new cases reported today and Harrison County had one. The total on the Coast is 56 cases with one death.
The totals for the six Coast counties are:
- George County — 1
- Hancock County — 5, with 1 death
- Harrison County — 25
- Jackson County — 12
- Pearl River County — 13
- Stone County — 0
9:30 a.m
Mississippi just reported the second coronavirus death in Mississippi.
The case was a man, age 60-65, from Holmes County. The Health Department said he had underlying health conditions and he died while hospitalized.
Holmes County is north of Jackson and northeast of Yazoo City.
“We knew that more deaths would be inevitable, just as we expect numerous new cases. It is a very sad update to report, regardless,” said MSDH State Health Officer Thomas Dobbs, MD, MPH. “Please do your part by practicing all preventive measures. It is vitally important that we all do what we can right now to help slow the spread of this virus.”
The daily update on number of cases in Mississippi will be released soon. The count on Tuesday was 320 cases.
7 a.m.
The latest report from Singing River Health Systems says 270 people have been tested for coronavirus. Four tested positive on Tuesday, with two inpatients and two who are self-isolated at home.
That makes 17 positive cases to date at SRHS, while Tuesday’s report from the Mississippi Health Department puts the total for Jackson County at 10.
“We believe there are two reasons they differ,” said SRHS CEO Lee Bond. “MSDH may not be always up-to-date on what it reports and also reports based on the positive person‘s place of residence. Several of our positives were people who live in areas outside the county lines.”
Bond said the hospitals are getting testing results much more quickly since switching to American Esoteric Labs.
“We stopped using the MSDH a few days into this outbreak because they were too slow,” Bond said. Other hospitals are having trouble getting lab results back from the state lab as fast and accurately as SRHS is with AEL, he said.
Highlights from Tuesday:
▪ Mississippi has 71 new cases of coronavirus, according to today’s report from the Mississippi Sate Department of Health, with 12 new cases on the Coast. That brings the total cases to 320, up from 249 on Monday.
▪ Gov. Tate Reeves signed an executive order laying out “new guidelines:”
- Mississippians must avoid non-essential gatherings of 10 people or more.
- Suspending dine-in services at restaurants and bars across the state, instructing them to use drive-thru, take-out, or delivery services to get people food.
- Mississippians must not to visit hospitals, nursing homes, or long-term care facilities.
- Directing businesses to allow every employee possible to work from home.
- Defining essential businesses to give clear guidance to partners at the local level and ensure no essential services are closed.
The new information he said Tuesday is: The state has waived the 1-week waiting period requirement for unemployment and the requirement that a resident must be looking for work while unemployed. He is not aware of any case of the coronavirus in the state prison system. It’s too early to say if schools will be able to resume this year.
He also said during a Tuesday press conference on the steps of the capitol, that all abortions in Mississippi should be canceled during the pandemic.
▪ Twenty health centers across Mississippi will receive $1.4 million from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to help pay for screening, testing and medical supplies and to boost their tele-health capacity to fight the coronavirus.
▪ The Disaster Distress Helpline, 1-800-985-5990, provides immediate crisis counseling to people affected by the coronavirus pandemic through the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
▪ The Bay St. Louis City Council met and discussed a decline in revenue that could continue. If the revenue loss remains for months, Mayor Mike Favre said the city may have to start considering job cuts.
▪ Biloxi Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich said during the council meeting the city may start using city firefighters and sanitation workers to help monitor groups larger than 10 at local stores and other gathering places. Biloxi also is looking at how the coronavirus will impact the city’s finances, especially with all casinos closed. “Of all the municipalities around here, we’re going to take the biggest hit,” he said.
This story was originally published March 25, 2020 at 9:50 AM.