The Mississippi Department of Health reports the highest number of COVID-19 cases in one day at over 4,400 Thursday. Governor Tate Reeves is extending the state of emergency 30 days, making the announcement on WLOX TV. The declaration was to end Sunday, and he explains the extension allows the state to request federal help with staffing hospitals and transferring patients to other facilities.
“You know we have a system of care in place right now where we take patients from various hospitals and make sure they’re being transferred to where beds are available. That system needs to stay in effect for that system of care,” said Reeves.
Health officials warn the medical system could be on the verge of collapse with nearly 1,500 people hospitalized for the coronavirus. Reeves responds to criticism he’s not more engaged in publicly addressing the COVID-19 Delta variant crisis. Last year he held frequent news briefings about the pandemic.
“In times of emergency we’ve got to remain calm. We’ve got to recognize we have challenges before us and we need to make sure our leaders are making good quality decisions to help us address the issues that are at play,” said Reeves.
Health officials report 80 outbreaks at schools with some going to virtual learning. Reeves says he will not mandate masking, calling them foolish last month. He says he supports being vaccinated for the coronavirus but only 36 percent of Mississippians are fully vaccinated.
