Live coronavirus updates April 30: Pearl River County now has 8 deaths in a week
Another resident of Pearl River County has died, the 8th person to die of the coronavirus in the past week.
Mississippi Health Department today reported 11 deaths, putting the total at 261 in the state to die during the pandemic, 37 of them in the six counties of South Mississippi. Pearl River County had 11 deaths on April 23 and now has 19.
The state has 246 new cases for a total of 6,815 since March 11. A week ago there were 5,153 cases.
South Mississippi has 14 new cases today as the numbers continue to fluctuate from a low of 4 new cases on Monday to a high of 22 on Tuesday. The total for South Mississippi is 693 cases.
Cases by county are:
George — 13 (0 new for two days)
Hancock — 62 (1 new)
Harrison — 174 (3 new)
Jackson — 259 (4 new)
Pearl River — 163 (6 new)
Stone — 22 (0 new for 8 days)
The Centers for Disease Control reported 26,512 new cases, up from 23,901 on Wednesday. The total now is 1,031,659 cases since the pandemic began.
Nationwide coronavirus deaths topped 60,000 today. With another 2,552 deaths reported today, there now are 60,057 coronavirus cases across the U.S.
4:00 p.m.
State legislators want a role in allocation of $1.25 billion given to Mississippi through the federal CARES Act, but Gov. Tate Reeves is concerned that any effort to strip him of spending authority will create bureaucratic delays.
“We have a statute that addresses all federal money in a federal emergency situation,” Reeves said. “We’ve had lots of precedent over the last 20 years.
“I don’t really give a damn who is in charge. What I care about is the people who need it and need it now. We can’t afford missteps. We have to be flexible. We can’t allow politics and bureaucracy to keep Mississippians from getting the money they so badly need.
The state legislature is set to reconvene at 1 p.m. on Friday after initially planning a May 18 return date, according to the Mississippi Today. They are gathering quickly in order to assure themselves in a major say of how the funds are spent.
“I’ve been in contact with many leaders in the legislative branch,” Reeves said. “It’s certainly a developing issue. When I was elected governor, I had no idea I’d have to sign seven emergency declarations in my first 100 days. I’ll never stop fighting for the people in the state no matter what it takes.”
3:34 p.m.
Mississippi’s Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce said Thursday that he believes the state’s food supply is nowhere close to being in danger of running out as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact the state.
“Today, we don’t have a shortage in Mississippi and we don’t have a shortage of food in the country,” Gipson said. “There are reports that plants in the midwest and north have shut down, and the issue there is that some workers have been exposed to COVID-19 and they’re unwilling to come to work.
“We have more food than we know what to do with (after restaurants faced limitations) and schools closed. That’s eliminated about half the domestic market for agriculture. I thank farmers for continuing to work during the crisis. We appreciate every one.”
Gipson and Gov. Tate Reeves cautioned Mississippians against overbuying food and other supplies.
“Don’t horde,” Gipson said. “The greatest risk is a panic buyout similar to what we saw in the first days of the crisis. People overran shelves, buying and hording more than they can eat. Stay calm and keep shopping. Buy what you need for a week or two.
“We don’t have a risk of running out of meat. There are frozen chicken supplies that would last a long, long time. We have more food than we know what to do with. This is a demand issue. You may go to the store and see no milk, butter or meat. That’s a temporary thing. Another truckload is coming.”
12:45 p.m.
The Health Department on Wednesday began a weekly report of the number of people in the state who are presumed to have recovered from the coronavirus.
The 3,413 presumed recoveries reported as of April 28 are roughly half of the 6,815 confirmed cases in the state. The state’s formula presumes a person has recovered 14 days after diagnosis without hospitalization and 21 days for those who were hospitalized.
Larry George, a Coast resident who tracks the numbers daily, said subtracting the 36 people who have died in the six counties of South Mississippi, there now are more than 300 people who are presumed recovered out of 693 cases diagnosed.
12:15 p.m.
Harrison County is under a burn ban through Tuesday, May 5. Fire Chief Patrick Sullivan will decide at that point if the ban can expire or if it will be renewed.
Noon
Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula reports an employee in the pipe shop, whose last day in the shipyard was April 23, has tested positive for coronavirus. The shipyard has 32 positive cases since the pandemic began.
10:30 p.m.
Gulfport Police Department is helping residents celebrate birthdays by providing a police car caravan complete with flashing lights and radio announcements during the coronavirus pandemic. Complete the form on the Gulfport Police Department website to invite them to celebrate a birthday.
9 a.m.
On Wednesday from 4-11:59 p.m. the Small Business Administration systems accepted loans from lending institutions with assets of less than $1 billion, said Ashley Bell, SBA Regional Administrator and Entrepreneurship Policy Advisor for the White House Opportunity & Revitalization Council.
Bell said the SBA and Treasure will evaluate whether to create a similar reserved time again in an effort to help small, underserved and minority businesses in this time of crisis.
7 a.m.
Singing River Health System reports just 1 new positive again, bringing the total to date to 212.
Wednesday’s highlights
▪ The death toll for COVID-19 reached 250 in Mississippi on Wednesday. The state Health Department reported 11 additional deaths in the last day, 3 of them in Pearl River County. Mississippi reported 227 cases on Wednesday with 11 additional deaths.
▪ Gov. Tate Reeves invited the state’s two senators, Roger Wicker and Cindy Hyde-Smith, to speak to the media during his daily press conference on Wednesday.
Before he turned the microphone over to the two senators, he rolled off a list of items that were delivered Tuesday to the state’s hospitals through federal funding secured by the two senators — 860,000 masks; 1,200 gallons of hand sanitizer and 1,000 containers of disinfectant wipes.
▪ Long Beach officials have lifted the city curfew effective at 5 a.m. on Thursday.
▪ Singing River Health Systems reported only 1 positive coronavirus test result reported back to their lab Tuesday, bringing total COVID-19 positives to date to 211.
This story was originally published April 30, 2020 at 12:17 PM.