COVID is ‘skyrocketing’ in Mississippi and foolish behavior is to blame, officials say
The state’s top public health specialists, State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs and Epidemiologist Dr. Paul Byers are urging Mississippians to stop “foolish behavior,” as Dobbs said, because COVID-19 cases are skyrocketing.
Byers reported 957 new cases Tuesday during a Facebook Live news conference, with 44 new deaths. He said the deaths have occurred in only the past few days.
“This is a very large jump in the number of deaths,” Byers said. “These are new deaths.”
He said cases are increasing fastest among 18- to 29-year-olds, where the jump in new cases is 20%, and, more broadly, in the 18-59 age group. Deaths occur most frequently in those over age 60.
Hot spots in the state right now, Dobbs said, include Harrison, DeSoto and Grenada counties, and the Jackson area.
“We are going to be in a sea of outbreaks, honestly,” Dobbs said.
Both he and Byers say too many Mississippians are ignoring public health guidelines that would slow the spread: social distancing, wearing masks in public and avoiding large gatherings.
Hospitals under strain, elective surgeries canceled
As a result, hospitals are filling up in some areas, with medical staffs under strain. Dobbs said some patients have been transferred out of state because no hospital beds were available.
The MSDH is issuing an order that calls off elective surgeries in counties with strained healthcare resources: Hinds, Rankin, Madison, Forrest, Jones and Washington counties. More orders could be coming, Dobbs and Byers said, as the new coronavirus spreads.
“My greatest fear is starting to be realized because there are people now in areas across the state that can’t get a bed,” Dobbs said. “I get calls every day from CEOs and doctors who can’t get their patients taken care of.”
Gov. Tate Reeves has said he would have to consider another lockdown if the healthcare system was under too much strain, but Reeves was not at Tuesday’s news conference. The governor and his family on Tuesday morning received negative tests for COVID-19 after a number of legislators tested positive.
Dobbs said during the news conference that eight legislators have confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 11 other cases are suspected. He said that 270 legislators and staff members around the Capitol were tested Monday for COVID-19 and more will be tested.
Local mask mandates recommended
Rather than a statewide mask mandate, Dobbs and Byers are working to convince city and county leaders that they should mandate masks locally.
Dobbs said there has been no statewide ban on smoking indoors, but the MSDH has had success convincing localities to forbid indoor smoking. He thinks the same type of campaign could be effective with masks.
Both Dobbs and Byers wore masks during the news conference, and they are mandated in public areas of MSDH offices.
The heavy caseload in Mississippi does not surprise Dobbs, who said the COVID-19 pandemic is at the beginning, not the end.
“It’s not surprising,” he said. “You can’t put a lot of people together during the worst pandemic of the century and not expect something bad to happen.”
COVID-19 cases have increased by 40.2% in Mississippi in the last two weeks. The Mississippi State Department of Health reported a total of 31,257 cases Monday, with 1,114 deaths.
Byers said: “We are now skyrocketing. You know, we may be in for a rough summer and a rougher fall.”
This story was originally published July 7, 2020 at 4:07 PM.
