Reeves orders strict attendance rules on prep football, K-12 school events in Mississippi
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves announced Friday that attendance at K-12 school and extracurricular events, including sports, will be limited to two attendees per participating student.
This includes two attendees per player, band member and cast member.
The governor’s new executive order, which includes an extension of the statewide mask mandate, will last until Aug. 31.
Excluded from these attendance limitations will be coaches, directors, teachers, officials, medical personnel, staff/workers and media.
“Sports and these other activities are instrumental in the lives of our young Mississippians. They teach discipline and responsibility in a way that can’t be replicated,” Reeves said Friday.
“That said, we are living through a pandemic. One of my greatest concerns heading into this school season has been sports and those other events which cause the community to come out in crowds. Twenty-two players on a field is not going to overwhelm a local hospital. Two thousand people in a small school’s bleachers might.”
The high school football season is scheduled to begin for public schools on Sept. 4 in Mississippi.
Reeve said it is “more likely than not” that he will extend his order past its Aug. 31 expiration date, but he left open the possibility of allowing more people into K-12 events if COVID-19 numbers continue to drop across the state.
Face coverings are required for attendees at all indoor events, and at outdoor events when social distancing is not possible.
The governor’s order says that attendees at all times shall maintain a minimum of six feet of separation from persons not in their household.
Reeves’ new order does not cover attendance at college sporting events.
“We will continue to discuss college attendance in the days and weeks to come,” the governor said.
Ole Miss and Mississippi State aren’t scheduled to play games until Sept. 26. Southern Miss is scheduled to host South Alabama on Sept. 3 at M.M. Roberts Stadium in Hattiesburg — a 36,000-seat facility.
A previous order by Reeves currently limits attendance at college sporting events to 25 percent of capacity.
The governor said that attendance limitations for the upcoming college football season will “be in the same ballpark” as 25 percent, but he added that it could be a little less than that.
“If you look at these larger collegiate stadiums, they’re very large so you have the opportunity to spread out,” Reeves said.
The governor said that one challenge of deciding how many people can attend college football games is determining who will be allowed into stadium suites at Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Southern Miss.
“It’s not going to be a just one size fits all deal where we can all just say let’s roll with it,” Reeves said.
More MS coronavirus updates
▪ State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs said this week both a teenager without underlying conditions died of COVID-19, as well as a pregnant woman in her early 20s.
▪ Hospitalizations are stabilizing, he said, but there are still 11 hospitals with zero ICU beds available.
▪ 38 counties with have schools reporting cases of coronavirus: 109 teachers, 69 students have COVID-19; 254 teachers and staff, 489 students in quarantine.
▪ MSDH on Friday issued an order requiring schools to report outbreaks to the public. The outbreaks will be posted on the MSDH website, possibly as soon as Monday, Dobbs said.
▪ Face shields do not supersede the need for face masks, Dobbs said, but provide extra protection in addition to masks.
▪ The state health department has new surveillance software, Dobbs said, which hopefully will make for better reports of COVID-19 = information.
This story was originally published August 14, 2020 at 2:58 PM.
