A Mississippi Coast lawmaker was on a ventilator with COVID-19 after Legislature outbreak
State Rep. Manly Barton, R-Moss Point, is suffering from COVID-19 in the intensive care unit at Singing River Hospital in Pascagoula but seems to be improving.
His daughter said Wednesday on Facebook that Barton, also a former Jackson County supervisor, was on a bi-level ventilator to help with his breathing.
State Rep. John Read, R-Gautier, said Barton was off the machine Thursday but still receiving oxygen.
“He’s alert and communicating,” Read told the Sun Herald. “That’s much better than he was last night.”
COVID outbreak in the Legislature
The Mississippi State Department of Health has reported at least 30 legislators and 11 others recently working at the state Capitol in Jackson have tested positive for COVID-19. State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs said earlier this week that two of the legislators were hospitalized.
Testing was done on 270 legislators and staff members in Jackson after House Speaker Philip Gunn announced July 5 that he had tested positive for the virus. But some legislators got tested when they returned home, and Dobbs was unsure if all of them had reported their results to MSDH.
Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann also tested positive for COVID-19, while Gov. Tate Reeves and his family tested negative.
MSDH is investigating the outbreak. Many legislators worked at the Capitol without masks, but the virus spread appears to be worse on the House side, Read said.
He believes almost all the legislators with COVID-19 are state representatives, saying he knew of only one senator who had tested positive.
Many praying for Barton
Read said that Barton is strong and will hopefully pull through the illness. Barton is a Vietnam combat veteran and Purple Heart recipient. When Read talked to Barton on Tuesday night, Barton thought he would be going home later in the week.
But his oxygen levels later dropped and he was instead moved to ICU.
Read said many people have been praying for Barton. His wife also has COVID-19, but was fighting the illness from home and feeling better on Day 13, her daughter said on Facebook.
“Maybe he is getting better,” Read said. “Prayers have been answered. Is he out of the woods? I don’t know. But he seems to be better today than he was yesterday.”
