Live updates April 7: Mississippi has 177 new coronavirus cases, 8 deaths
5:46 p.m.
Sharon Nash has been appointed interim tax collector for Harrison County and she plans to make adjustments to allow people to make transactions during the coronavirus pandemic.
Nash plans to offer curbside service for transactions that cannot be done online.
“We will have someone outside the Gulfport courthouse with a mask and gloves on, helping our citizens as much as possible,” she said in a press release. “I plan on being in the office Monday and having five people do nothing but answer the phones, and we are going to try and add a sixth line. We are going to start processing everything that’s been done online.”
5:30 p.m.
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves and the state’s epidemiologist, Dr. Paul Byers, acknowledged that the black community is hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Reeves points to Moss Point as one example of a black community that’s trying to cope with an outbreak.
“Moss Point is an area of the state where we’ve seen a higher number of cases, particularly in the African-American community in that particular city,” Reeves said on Tuesday during a press conference in Jackson. “We’re trying to push resources to those communities where we’re seeing clusters and outbreaks, and Moss Point is a fine example of that.”
Moss Point hosted a free testing clinic on Monday across from city hall.
1:07 p.m.
Hancock County Supervisors have extended the closures of public facilities until at least May 4. This includes public community centers, the sports complex, county owned fields and parks, public bathrooms, piers and the arena. All county departments and employees have the authority to implement these closures.
12:30 p.m.
Warnings from officials that we’d see the number of coronavirus cases increase dramatically this week were proven by today’s report from the Centers for Disease Control.
It showed by far the largest increases to date, with 43,438 new cases nationwide and 3,154 more deaths.
This topped the previous one-day high of 1,294 additional deaths on Monday.
The total now stands at 374,329 cases in the U.S. and 12,064 deaths.
12:08 p.m.
Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula reports 2 more cases of coronavirus in the West Bank Production Area. There now are 15 positive cases, with 5 of those employees now cleared to return to work.
11:50 a.m.
Lucedale has joined other cities in South Mississippi in enacting a nightly curfew from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. within the city limits.
10:17 a.m.
A day after the state Department of Health advised people to wear masks when they go shopping, Mississippi has 177 new cases of coronavirus and 8 additional deaths.
Pearl River County has two more deaths, bringing the total for the six southern counties to 13.
Today’s report shows 27 new cases for the Coast, for a total of 292 cases. The highest number of new cases was on April 3, with 45 new cases in South Mississippi.
Stone County, which had its first case reported on Sunday, now has 3 cases.
Mississippi’s total now stands at 1,915 cases and 59 deaths from the coronavirus.
Here are the total cases for the six counties in South Mississippi:
George — 5 (0 new)
Hancock — 31 (1 new)
Harrison — 89 (10 new)
Jackson — 108 (10 new)
Pearl River — 56 (4 new)
Stone — 3 (2 new)
7 a.m.
South Mississippi can expect the number of coronavirus cases to continue to escalate, says Lee Bond, CEO of Singing River Health Systems. To date, SRHS as performed 1,047 tests with 104 positives and 22 new cases identified in 48 hours, Bond said.
“If the ratios remain the same, we should expect at least 20+ more positives in the community in the next day or two based on tests currently pending.,” he said Monday night.
Highlights from Monday:
▪ The Mississippi State Department of Health announced it is asking all Mississippians to “wear locally produced (non-medical grade masks) or homemade cloth masks when leaving the home to perform essential functions such as grocery shopping or filling prescriptions.”
Cloth face coverings should:
- fit snugly but comfortably against the side of the face
- be secured with ties or ear loops
- include multiple layers of fabric
- allow for breathing without restriction
- be able to be laundered and machine dried without damage or change to shape.
▪ “MSDH recommends that essential commercial operations, such as grocery stores, pharmacies, and convenience stores, take every measure to ensure social distancing and proper hand hygiene. ... Every effort should be made to prevent crowding within stores including in the aisles, outside the store, and at checkout. Again, patrons should always maintain a distance of at least six feet from one another.”
▪ At 7 p.m. Friday, WXXV and other news outlets across the state will air a live virtual town hall meeting with Gov. Tate Reeves, State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs. The one-hour virtual town hall will take place at the studios of WJTV in Jackson, available locally on wxxv25.com. Submit questions to Reeves and Dobbs via social media using the hashtag #AskReevesfrom from now until April 9.
▪ In a press conference, Gov. Tate Reeves said 200 beds will be available, if needed, at Camp Shelby for those recovering from COVID-19 so patients don’t have to risk returning home and spreading the virus. There also will be a site selected in North Mississippi.
▪ Reeves said the models for projected peak usage of state resources had changed slightly over the weekend, now estimating a peak date of April 18. The state also is basing its plans on 150% of the expected need, he said.
▪ President Donald Trump has approved the governor’s request for a major disaster declaration, freeing up more funding.
▪ Ingalls Shipbuilding reported 13 people have tested positive at the West Bank production area. Five of those have recovered to the point they now are eligible to return to work.
▪ In the six southern counties there were 20 new cases reported along with 2 deaths in Jackson County and 1 in Pearl River County. That brought the total in South Mississippi to 265 cases and 11 deaths. The total for Mississippi was 1,738 cases and 51 deaths.
This story was originally published April 7, 2020 at 10:33 AM.