Live coronavirus updates for April 1: Jackson County now has most cases on MS Coast

6:05 p.m.

The Hancock County Board of Supervisors initially planned to vote on shutting down its beaches Wednesday night, but has instead decided to follow Gov. Tate Reeves’ decision to close them at 5 p.m. on Friday.

All beaches in the state will be closed at that time.

3:30 p.m.

Gov. Tate Reeves Mississippians to shelter-in-place, which he called “the right tool at the right time to save lives.” Some people still don’t have a healthy fear of this virus, he said.

It begins at 5 p.m. Friday, April 3 and continues until 8 a.m. Monday, April 20.

3:27 p.m.

A member of the Harrison County Board of Supervisors relayed some stark numbers when it comes to hotel occupancy in the county during Wednesday’s board meeting.

District One Supervisor Beverly Martin said that hotels went from about 20-25 percent occupancy to 10-18 percent last week.

“I talked to three (hotels) and they were reporting less than 10 percent occupancy,” she said. “Some of them had zero check-ins on Friday and five rooms on Saturday. With the last closure at Margaritaville, we only have 13 hotels still open. They’re not seeing any uptick in bookings. It’s going the opposite directions.”

Those numbers did not sit well with District Three Supervisor Marlin Ladner.

“Without minimizing the health dangers … there’s nothing worse than death,” he said. “Without minimizing that, long term we could be in even more serious problems if we destroy this economy. Just a reminder, the Great Depression lasted 10 years and it took World War II to get out of it. I don’t think we have the answers to it, but the economy is in serious shape, bad shape. At some point, some decisions are going to have to be made. We’re not going to make those decisions. It may be decisions by the federal government.”

3:00 p.m.

Cities in Hancock County are adopting curfews and shelter-in-place orders today, after most cities in Harrison County did so on Tuesday.

Bay St. Louis and Waveland passed similar regulations to help slow the spread of coronavirus and Diamondhead is expected to follow before the end of the day.

2:50 p.m.

Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula said two more employees have tested positive for coronavirus, bringing the total to 12.

The new cases are an employee at LPD 28 and an employee at NSC 9. The last day at the shipyard for both employees was March 27.

12:15 p.m.

The Center for Disease Control reports 22,562 new cases of coronavirus across the United States today and 743 more deaths.

On Tuesday there were 22,635 new cases and 455 additional deaths.

Since the pandemic began, 186,101 people in the U.S. have tested positive for the virus and 3,603 have died.

10:10 a.m.

Three weeks since the first case of coronavirus was reported in Mississippi, the number of cases passed 1,000 in the state and spiked to 157 today in South Mississippi from 134 on Tuesday.

Jackson County saw the biggest single day increase to date, with 12 new cases, and at 52 cases has surpassed Harrison County with the most cases in South Mississippi.

There were 4 new cases each in Harrison and Hancock counties, 2 in Pearl River County and 1 in George County. Stone County still has no reported cases.

The state Health Department reported 2 new deaths in the state today, pushing the total to 22 deaths, and 1,073 total cases.

The report also shows the first person to die of coronavirus in the state between ages 30-39. Two age 40-49 have died, 1 age 50-59, 5 age 60-69 and 13 age 70 plus.

The totals on the Coast are:

George County — 4

Hancock County — 20

Harrison County — 49

Jackson County — 52

Pearl River County —32

Stone County — 0

9:44 a.m.

Mississippi Power is urging customers to be aware of scammers during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially phone calls demanding payments over the phone.

Mississippi Power will never ask for banking information or a credit card or pre-paid debit card number over the phone or in person, the company said. People who receive a call should hang up, report it to local law enforcement and call Mississippi Power at 1-800-532-1502.

All Mississippi Power field representatives drive company vehicles and carry photo ID.

Mississippi Power announced on March 14 it would suspend customer disconnects during the coronavirus pandemic.

8:10 a.m.

A food distribution to help families in need during the coronavirus will be from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday at First Baptist Church Biloxi, 1560 Popp’s Ferry Road.

This is the second distribution by Mississippi Public Health Institute and Feeding the Gulf Coast as an ongoing effort to support the development of stronger, healthier families across the Mississippi Gulf Coast through promoting health and wellness among African American mothers, babies, and families in Jackson, Harrison, and Hancock counties.

7:50 a.m.

Staff and providers in all patient care areas at Garden Park Medical Center in Gulfport now will wear masks, expanding the use beyond suspected or positive COVID cases., the hospital announced. Masks will be optional only for staff in non-patient care areas who can consistently maintain social distancing of at least six feet.

CEO Randy Rogers said Garden Park has adequate supplies of personal protective equipment, and will continue to take steps to conserve PPE, including reuse and reprocessing, where appropriate.

Highlights from Tuesday:

• Gulfport, Biloxi , D’Iberville and Long Beach ordered a curfew and the temporary closures of non-essential businesses due to the coronavirus. The curfew is from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m in all the cities and applies to all but medical workers and emergency responders. The curfew began in Gulfport and Long Beach on Tuesday night, and starts Thursday at 12:01 a.m. in D’IIberville and at 11 p.m. In Biloxi.
• The cases of coronavirus across Mississippi increased by 90, according to Tuesday’s report from the Mississippi State Department of Health, with four new deaths. The Coast has 134 cases, and two deaths.
• Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula announced 2 more employees have tested positive for coronavirus, bringing the total number to 10. All 10 are in the West Bank production area.
• The total of coronavirus case across the U.S. rose to 163,359 cases, with 2,860 deaths. Of those, Mississippi had 937 cases.
• Gov. Tate Reeves issued a “shelter-in-place” place order in Lauderdale County, the first executive order that requires all non-essential businesses to close and allowed essential travel to work and for medical care and supplies for the home.
• Winn-Dixie announced stores will remain open an extra hour form 8 to 9 p.m. Monday and Tuesday for first responders and health care providers to stock up on food and essential items.

This story was originally published April 1, 2020 at 10:41 AM.