Mississippi officials are extremely concerned that residents are not wearing masks and social distancing as the state’s healthcare system struggles to keep up with COVID 19 cases. Last week, the state saw over 1,000 cases in a single day. Governor Tate Reeves says this week cases have averaged 650 per day. He says the state was supposed to reopen Wednesday, but now that’s on hold. “I’m begging every one of my fellow Mississippians to please play your part. It will take all of us to make a difference," said Governor Reeves at a coronavirus update press briefing. "There is hope, but survival is not a given. It is a decision. We have to make that choice every single day to protect ourselves, and to protect our loved ones.”
Reeves says monitoring county outbreaks and mandating masks has been effective in reducing the spread of the virus. But enforcing a statewide policy would be difficult. He says “I’m not taking a statewide order off the table at this time. But, as we look at the number of new cases it is more likely that we will see additional measures on a county by county basis. But what I got to tell you the only way it’s gonna work is if we have buy-in by our local people.”
State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs says the state is on a trajectory to overwhelm the healthcare system soon. He says even the largest hospitals may not have any beds available in their intensive care units. “And it wouldn’t take a whole lot of COVID-19 patients to overwhelm the system," says Dr. Dobbs. "You know we’ve had reports of people having to spend overnight in the ER to replace ICU capacity. It doesn’t matter if you’re a COVID-19 patient or if you’re a heart attack or a stroke or a car wreck. You need that same resource. It’s important for everyone and we need to protect that resource by not spreading the infection in the community.“
Dr. Dobbs says if people continue to refuse to wear masks, he hopes there will be a hospital bed available when they need it.
