The Mississippi Department of Health is reporting a cluster of COVID-19 infections in Northeast Mississippi as a result of a funeral gathering in Lee and Prentiss Counties. Approximately 100 people were in attendance and at least one person was infected with the Coronavirus that spread throughout the group. Nine cases have been confirmed and more are still under investigation. State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs says this is an example of why wearing a mask and social distancing is still important. “I don’t care how great you’ve been. And if you’re in a northern county and everything great and say ‘okay we can go back to normal’ you can’t go back to normal," says Dobbs. "Please, if your county is doing great, keep it up. Don’t let your guard down because it’s not only going to cause illness, but it’s gonna stress the health system and people are gonna get sick and die.”
All businesses will be allowed to reopen on Monday, June 1. Governor Tate Reeves says while it’s important to continue reopening the economy, it’s up to Mississippians to decide if they want to go out in public places. The order allows for 20 people to gather indoors if they can not social distance, and up to 100 people outdoors if they can maintain a distance of 6 feet or more. Reeves says he doesn't believe "that I as a Governor have the ability to order people to stay in their home for months and months and months on end. But you as an individual certainly have the right to make good decisions and limit the amount of risk that you put yourself under.”
Reeves says if you limit the risk to yourself, you are also limiting the risk to others that you care about. “We’ve tried to plead with our fellow Mississippians, we’ve tried to open up all of our businesses in a way that was safe and responsible, but now we need Mississippians to step up and make good decisions," says Reeves. "To wear masks in public. To stay six feet apart. The little things that we can do to minimize and mitigate risk is what’s going to save us in the long run.”
The Safe Return order will expire June 15th, and will run as a trial to see if there is a resurgence of the Coronavirus.
