After a few days of declining numbers of cases, the coronavirus is showing it is not ready to go away just yet.
On Tuesday there were a total of 25 cases in Marion County; on Wednesday that number jumped by nine to 34 cases with an additional case on Thursday, bringing the total to 35 for the county. Across the state, there were 145 new cases on Tuesday. Wednesday the number jumped to 273 new cases and Thursday a total of 264 in cases. The total of cases across the state as of press-time on Thursday was 3,624.
Gov. Tate Reeves said at a press conference Wednesday, “We can see the finish line, but the push to the end requires all of us to sprint. We are at or near our peak in Mississippi.”
Alania Cedillo, administrator at Marion General Hospital, said things are still going well at the hospital. So far the staff at the hospital has not been overly taxed, and there has been a little more traffic coming in but not enough to be overwhelming, she said.
Despite having 35 confirmed cases in the county, the hospital does not have any coronavirus patients. Forrest General Hospital has 18 patients with nine in ICU, and Highland Community Hospital in Picayune, which is part of the Forrest General System, has seven patients in the hospital with three in ICU, according to the Forrest General COVID-19 website.
Reeves said two new programs are being established to assist people due to COVID-19. The first program is to provide mortgage assistance for homeowners whose jobs have been affected due to the virus. The second program is to provide emergency child care for essential personnel and first responders.
“We are in the eye of the storm,” Reeves said in his press conference.
The Mississippi Home Corporation reopened the Hardest Hit Fund to provide short-term mortgage assistance up to six months for those who have lost jobs to the pandemic. The program is funded through the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
“I saw firsthand the homes that were lost to the tornados this weekend. It breaks my heart. There are more who are at risk of losing their homes to our nation’s economic crisis. We can’t stop the wind from blowing, but we can try to stop more from losing these homes,” Reeves said.
Applications can be submitted through an online portal at mshomesaver.com.
The Childcare Crisis Assistance in Isolation Response Plan is to provide emergency and temporary childcare facilities for the essential workers set out in the isolation order Reeves made.
“We have emergency and essential personnel risking their health and well-being every day to continue to provide the care and support we need to sustain our daily lives. They should not have the additional burden of finding both care and education for their children,” Mississippi Department of Human Services Executive Director Bob Anderson said at the governor’s press conference.
Potential childcare providers will have access to free training through the Early Childhood Academy and will have a Childcare Crisis Assistance in Isolation Response Plan coach to guide them.
For more information on Childcare Crisis Assistance in Isolation Response Plan go to www.mdhs.ms.gov/ccair.
A decision on the shelter-in-place order, which is set to expire on Monday, was made after press time.
“I know that what is being asked of you is not easy. It’s not even close to easy. We also know that the collective work of our people is having an impact,” Reeves said.
“Please stay strong. Stay in the fight,” he said.
