Marion County is up to five identified cases of coronavirus as the count continues to grow throughout Mississippi and the nation.
By press time Tuesday, the state had 937 confirmed cases and 20 deaths. In one week the number of cases has jumped by more than 600 in the state.
One of the biggest concerns is residents not taking the warning of social distancing seriously.
Columbia Mayor Justin McKenzie requested in a March 24 letter that only one person for each family shop for groceries and only purchase what is needed. The discussion of the public not heeding the call for social distancing was a topic discussed at the Columbia Police Department briefing Monday morning.
“The stores are doing their part; the people need to understand,” Police Chief Michael Kelly said.
Kelly reminded everyone of the importance of education and getting everyone to understand the need to stay at home.
He stressed events such as funerals and weddings need to be modified, as now is not the time for gatherings. Kelly said he is concerned a person could unbeknownst be carrying the virus at a large gathering that will cause the virus to spread.
Tuesday morning Gov. Tate Reeves held a press conference where he announced effective at 10 p.m. Tuesday a "shelter in place" order for Lauderdale County, which includes the state's eighth-largest city by population, Meridian. All non-essential businesses in Lauderdale County have to shut down for two weeks until April 14 at 11:59 p.m. Essential businesses will be allowed to be open but must follow the protocol of the Centers for Disease Control, including the social distancing of six feet.
The governor said the executive order issued for Lauderdale County may be the first one, but he foresees others similar orders being issued for other communities.
Reeves said Mississippi is still closer to the beginning than the end with the virus. He also mentioned President Trump’s mandate of extending the social distancing for another 30 days until April 30 to continue to “flatten the curve," in hopes of reducing the number of cases that strike the hospital system at once.
Alania Cedillo, administrator of Marion General Hospital, said Tuesday that at the moment things are going well at the hospital. While some U.S. hospitals have been dealing with supply shortages, Cedillo said Marion General currently has an adequate amount of supplies. Even though Marion County has had five cases of coronavirus, currently nearly half of the local hospital's beds are empty.
At the press conference, Reeves reiterated if a person is sick to stay home.
“This is not the time to be a hero at work. If you are sick, stay home,” he said.
The goal is to do more testing and monitoring, Reeves said, to identify, isolate and investigate the patients to determine what the virus trail could be; and to monitor the patient to ensure the self-quarantine is being duly maintained. State health officials were given the authority to make sure the patient stays quarantined until recovered.
Dr. Paul Byers, the state epidemiologist, said the goal in Lauderdale County is to interrupt the spread of the virus to effectively reduce the number of cases. Byers said if a person is sick enough to warrant the need for testing, the person needs to stay at home until the results come in, not to go work and possibly risk exposure. People need to assume the possibility they may be carriers of the virus, he said.
The governor also said the local authorities, police and health officials are authorized to break up any gathering they may see of 10 or more people. He also said funerals and weddings at this time should have no more than 10 people present to adhere to the guidelines.
Reeves said a person who is 30 or 40 years of age can feel perfectly fine but could be a carrier of the virus. In the state where there is a large number of people in the high risk zone of being elderly or of compromised health, it is too easy to pass along the virus.
“No one wants to be the one to pass the virus on to a loved one,” Reeves said.
At the press conference he was asked about the school situation with the president extending the social distancing until April 30, and Reeves responded it was too soon to discuss the situation as schools are already closed until April 17.
