On June 22, Mississippi had around 23 thousand cases of the Coronavirus, and today that number is over 47 thousand. Governor Tate Reeves says some people under age 30 believe they have a good chance of surviving the virus, even if hospitalized. But, he says they aren't taking into account how their actions are straining the state's healthcare system and hurting others. "And so as state leaders working with our hospitals and our healthcare space, we have to do everything we can to protect the integrity of the healthcare system so that everyone in our state who needs quality care, not just those who have COVID-19, but every single Mississippian can get that quality care," says Governor Reeves.
State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs says eight hospitals in Mississippi have zero capacity in their intensive care units, and 40 percent of all ICU patients have the Coronavirus. He says future hospitalizations from the thousands of new COVID-19 cases could soon begin filling what's left. He says "it's not just like we're gonna have zero cases tomorrow, right? So it's just gonna keep stacking up as far as the eye can see. And can we keep up with this pace? Absolutely not. I mean there's a limit. It doesn't mean there's not contingency plans, but it's not gonna be the healthcare that you want to get on a daily basis. It's gonna be a different kind of healthcare delivery than we expect in the United States."
Governor Reeves is expected to sign an executive order today that brings more Mississippi counties under a mask mandate and another to create additional restrictions for bars to slow the spread of the virus.
