Reeves puts responsibility on MS residents after easing COVID-19 rules, death spike
A record day for COVID-19 deaths in Mississippi drew a plea Tuesday from Gov. Tate Reeves that the state’s residents take personal responsibility for their health and remain cautious.
The state’s single-day death total has been in the double digits in seven of the last eight days, but Tuesday’s total of 32 easily cleared the previous high mark of 20 on May 1.
The spike in deaths comes after Reeves began to ease some restrictions under his shelter-in-place order, which went into effect on April 3, through a “safer at home” order that allowed retail stores to open at 50 percent capacity on April 27.
Reeves on Monday went a step further in reopening the state’s economy by allowing restaurants, starting on Thursday, to begin dine-in services as long they are limited to 50 percent of the usual seating capacity.
On Tuesday, Reeves opened his daily press conference by warning Mississippians against becoming lax as the pandemic continues to hit the state.
“The threat is not gone,” Reeves said. “Even as we all want to move on, we have to stay vigilant. I know it is not easy. I know it is not fair. I also want this to be over. We have to keep fighting as individuals and we have to keep fighting as a state.
“There is a reason that we have not thrown the state wide open. I hear the calls for that every single day. It’s really where my instinct goes when I see the economic disaster in front us. I can’t do that in good conscience. I want this to be over, but I can’t just make it go away. Balance is the key.”
Reeves said that his recent moves to make more activities legal doesn’t necessarily mean that Mississippians should follow them.
“Just because something is legal does not mean it is wise,” he said. “Just because something is legal doesn’t mean it is smart for you and your family. There is no government replacement for your personal responsibility. Please take warnings seriously. Do not go back to normal.”
State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs said Tuesday that a big reason for the jump in the death total was due to the Mississippi State Department of Health’s revision of previous death certificates. He said of the 32 deaths reported Tuesday, 14 were from previous death certificates that were not initially included in official numbers.
Dobbs said that 50% of the new cases in recent weeks have come from 12 counties, including Copiah, Lauderdale, Madison, Leake, Neshoba and Scott.
“We have ongoing transmissions across the state,” Dobbs said. “There is no place in the state that is free from coronavirus. We need to maintain vigilance.”
Reeves said that while the state has reported some of its largest single-day totals in new cases and deaths over the last five days, the daily average is still relatively stable.
“The five-day average is in a similar spot to where we were a week ago, 200-300,” Reeves said. “I have colleagues around the country that are looking not at the daily numbers, but the cases as a percentage of the total number of cases. The reality is that the data is critically important.”
Reeves, who again urged people to wear masks in public, indicated that he was open to reinstating harsher guidelines if case numbers and deaths take a turn for the worst. He may also put harsher restrictions on individual counties and regions of the state.
“I have been very serious about my willingness to make adjustments as the data suggests,” Reeves said. “If you look at the last two weeks, there have been 100 new cases in Scott and one new case in Alcorn County. I do not believe we can treat Scott and Alcorn the same.
“We’ve got to take a more surgical approach at this time to make sure we push more resources and testing to areas (impacted the most by COVID-19).”
In February, before COVID-19 claimed the first Mississippi life, the casino industry employed more than 16,500 people statewide.
This story was originally published May 5, 2020 at 3:48 PM.
