State officials hope mandates for bars and social gatherings will slow the spread of COVID-19

Bars in Mississippi are limited to 50 percent capacity, customers must be seated to be served, and alcohol sales stop from 11:00 pm until 7:00 am. Social gatherings are also limited to 10 people indoors and 20 people outdoors. Governor Tate Reeves says he struggled to make these changes, but they must be done to protect the state's healthcare system. He says "I'm a firm believer that people can do typically whatever they want to do at home. I'm very much a libertarian in that regard. Except when that individual crosses over into doing something that puts other people at risk."

Six additional counties have also been added to an existing order that includes a mask mandate.

State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs says a large part of Mississippi's Coronavirus spread can be traced to young people in their teens and 20s. "Social stuff is killing us," says Dr. Dobbs. "It's gonna be a party, it's gonna be just people hanging out. It's going to be things that normally we applaud as a strong element of society. Funerals and churches and that sort of thing. Every time we put people together there's gonna be a risk. And we really, just for now, we need to avoid being around other folks as much as we can."

The mandate remains in place until August 3rd. The Governor says he can extend them at any time if needed.