Why are coronavirus cases spiking in Harrison County? Here’s what MS health officer says.
Mississippi’s top health officer believes the increase in COVID-19 cases in Harrison County is likely the result of a lack of social distancing in some settings.
The county has reported a total of 393 coronavirus cases, and this week surpassed Jackson County for having the most cases in the state’s southernmost six counties.
Home to Biloxi and Gulfport, Harrison County this week was for the first time in the state’s top 10 list of outbreaks. It tied for third in new coronavirus cases from June 8-14, with a total of 41 reported. That’s a 13% increase over the previous week
Hinds, the state’s most populous county and home to the state capital of Jackson, reported 93 cases to rank No. 1, and Jones was second with 50.
Wayne County, which has along with Jones been among the state’s recent hot spots, was tied with Harrison County.
On Thursday, Dr. Thomas Dobbs said the reason behind Harrison County’s recent increase is not that different from what he’s seen in Jones and Wayne.
“It looks like it’s community transmission like everywhere else,” he said. “I’ll go back and look at it, but looking at it broadly it’s everything we’ve seen across the state.”
Dobbs said there are plenty of potential causes for an outbreak, including health-care settings and prisons, but Harrison County’s bump is likely the result of the most common cause.
“Overwhelmingly, it’s been people out in the county and getting it,” he said. “That’s what’s happening.
“If you go to the beaches and if you go to the bars, tell me what you see. You see people talking right in front of each other.
“If it’s loud and you’re in a condition where you have to talk loudly to communicate, and you’re right in somebody’s face and you’re indoors, that’s the perfect way to spread coronavirus.”
Gov. Tate Reeves and Dobbs both urged people Thursday to take precautions to slow the spread of COVID-19, which recently has brought about a worrying increase in hospitalizations and ventilator use.
“I do want to reiterate to everyone the importance of this,” Reeves said. “We have said from the beginning our goal is to ensure that every single Mississippian that can get better with quality care receives that quality care.
“When we talk about the number of ventilators currently in use at approximately 100, we know that stayed between 60 and 80 for weeks on end. We are continuing to see a steady, but slow increase in those numbers.
“That concerns us. The combination is creating stress (on the healthcare system), particularly in certain markets. Decisions will be made to ensure healthcare capacity is available to anyone who needs it. That will continue to drive our decision making.”
This story was originally published June 18, 2020 at 4:45 PM.
