Reeves expands mask mandate, adds 1 South MS county and crowd limits to indoor games
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves extended his mask mandate to 62 counties and updated his regulations for social gatherings during the COVID-19 pandemic on Wednesday, including limitations on the people who can attend indoor high school sporting events.
The lone South Mississippi county to be added to the list under a mask mandate on Wednesday was Pearl River.
Under Reeves’ new executive order, social gatherings where social distancing is not possible will be limited to a group of no more than 10 in a single space indoors.
For outdoor gatherings, no more than 50 people should be in close proximity.
Indoor sports venues for K-12 extracurricular events will be limited to four spectators per student participant or 250 ticketed spectators. Other indoor arenas will be limited to no more than 10% of seating capacity or 1,000 attendees.
“All of these measures are important, and I hope that the people of Mississippi will make an honest effort to participate in slowing the spread of the virus,” Reeves said during a news conference Wednesday afternoon.
There were 54 counties under a mask mandate the last time Reeves extended his order on Dec. 1.
Reeves said he added 12 counties to the list of candidates under a mask mandate and removed four.
The 62 counties currently under the mandate include: Adams, Alcorn, Amite, Attala, Bolivar, Calhoun, Carroll, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Clarke, Clay, Coahoma, Copiah, Covington, De Soto, Forrest, Franklin, Grenada, Harrison, Hinds, Holmes, Itawamba, Jackson, Jefferson, Jefferson Davis, Jones, Kemper, Lafayette, Lamar, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Lee, Leflore, Lincoln, Lowndes, Madison, Marion, Marshall, Monroe, Montgomery, Neshoba, Noxubee, Oktibbeha, Panola, Pearl River, Perry, Pontotoc, Prentiss, Rankin, Scott, Simpson, Stone, Tate, Tippah, Tishomingo, Union, Washington, Webster, Winston, Yalobusha and Yazoo.
“We strongly support the use of masks in public settings when you’re out and about, regardless of what county you’re in,” State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs said during the news conference.
If cases continue to increase despite the new mandates, Reeves said his will next step will be to eliminate elective surgeries because hospitals are overburdened. He said enforcement of executive orders also would be stepped up.
What about Christmas parties Tate Reeves is hosting?
A reporter asked Reeves about the Christmas parties he is hosting at the Governor’s mansion. Reeves said that he will be adhering to the restrictions in his latest executive order, allowing no more than 10 people inside the mansion at a time and spreading the parties onto the grounds if need be, where the limit will be 50.
He said some statewide elected officials who were invited to a party will not be attending, so he doesn’t expect large crowds. But if more people than anticipated indicate they are coming, Reeves said attendance times will be staggered to keep down the number of guests.
He said people need some sense of normalcy during the pandemic but sticking to public-health guidelines will minimize the risk of spreading COVID-19.
Both Reeves and Dobbs urged Mississippians to be cautious until they can be vaccinated. The Pfizer vaccine should arrive in the state next week, but the first doses will go to frontline health-care workers exposed to COVID 19. Dobbs does not expect the vaccine to be available to the general public until the spring or summer.
This story was originally published December 9, 2020 at 3:00 PM.
