JACKSON, Miss — The Mississippi Department of Health issued an order Friday, requiring those who are infected with COVID-19 to isolate, or possibly face a fine and jail time.
The order released by Mississippi’s State Health Officer Thomas Dobbs says for any person living in Mississippi, upon first learning they are infected with COVID-19, they must isolate at home. The order includes those who are fully vaccinated and become infected.
The order says people who are infected must remain home or “other appropriate residential location” for ten days from the onset of the illness, or ten days from the date of a positive test for those who are asymptomatic.
Dobbs said a negative test is not required to end isolation, but you must be without a fever for 24 hours with improvement in other symptoms.
The order says K-12 schools in the state must keep students or staff diagnosed with COVID-19 out of the school setting during isolation.
According to the order, refusing to follow it is – at minimum – a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of $500, six months in prison, or both. When a life-threatening disease is involved, the order says refusing to obey is punishable by a fine of up to $5,000, up to five years in prison, or both.
If you are infected and isolating at home:
- Limit exposure to household contacts
- No visitors
- Stay in one room away from others in the home
- Use a separate bathroom if you can
- Wear a face mask around others.