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Gov. Tate Reeves said he won't issue mask mandate; Mississippi breaks single-day record for number of new COVID-19 cases again

Governor Tate Reeves extended a State of Emergency in Mississippi Thursday, but said there would be no lockdowns or statewide mandates.

JACKSON, Miss — 8/13/2021 - For the second day in a row, and the third day in a week, Mississippi has broken its single-day record number of new COVID-19 cases in the state.

Friday morning, state health leaders said there were 5,023 new cases and 31 new deaths, for a total of 381,147 cases and 7,761 deaths in the state. 

Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves held a news conference on the state's response. You can watch it HERE.

LIVE: Governor Tate Reeves

Governor Reeves hosts press conference on Mississippi's COVID-19 response with Dr. Dobbs and Executive Director McCraney. LIVE:

Posted by Tate Reeves on Friday, August 13, 2021

Reeves said the state lost more than 2,000 healthcare workers in the past year. He's now asking for federal help to support tired and overworked hospitals.

Despite all of this, Reeves stood firm Friday on his decision not to require state employees to get the COVID vaccine. And he said he still doesn't plan to issue a statewide mask mandate.       

Desoto County has had a total of 24,662 cases and 288 deaths in the county. Find the breakdown across the state HERE.

I’d like to begin by saying a big thank you to all the folks at the Department of Health, MEMA, and the Mississippi...

Posted by Tate Reeves on Friday, August 13, 2021

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8/12/2021 - Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves is extending the state of emergency there for 30 days as the state health department reported the largest single-day total of new COVID-19 cases and a record high of people hospitalized with COVID-19 in the state.

The 4,412 new cases posted by the Health Department on Thursday breaks a record of 3,488 that was set only two days earlier. The numbers Wednesday also exceeded 3,000. 

The department of health said the state also surpassed all previous highs for hospitalized Mississippians with COVID-19.  There are currently 1,490 hospitalized, 388 in intensive case, and 264 on ventilators.

In a series of tweets, Reeves said he decided to extend the state of emergency to "ease the process of marshalling addition resources for our response."

He said the extension allows the state to keep options open for using the state's National Guard members as needed. 

Reeves also said there would be no lockdowns of statewide mandates.

Dr. Alan Jones is associate vice chancellor for clinical affairs at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. He said the rapid increase in new virus cases is putting stress on the state hospital system. 

Few intensive care unit beds are available in Mississippi. Jones said hospitals are full from Memphis to Gulfport and from Natchez to Meridian.

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