Curfew and ban of children under the age of 16 in businesses remains in effect for the City of Forest
By Tim Beeland
tbeeland@sctonline.net
Hundreds of people lined up to get free food boxes handed out by The Salvation Army Monday afternoon at Gaddis Park in Forest as Scott County moved from fifth to third place in the state for the number of positive cases of COVID-19.
The line of cars wrapped around a portion of the park and back up and behind Koch foods as far as the eye could see as residents hoped to get one of the boxes containing a variety of staples like pasta, corn flakes, Pop Tarts and fruit and nut bars, in addition to a gallon of milk, a dozen eggs, and a loaf of bread.
The food giveaway was in an ongoing effort by The Salvation Army and local industries like Tyson to help feed hungry families in the wake of high unemployment caused by the worldwide pandemic.
Mayor Nancy Chambers said Tuesday morning that there were about 300 boxes to be given away and “they did not last long.” The mayor also said that the city will be following Governor Tate Reeve’s new “Safer at Home” executive order until May 11 with two exceptions.
The current shelter in place order issued by the city in early April is scheduled to expire on Thursday (April 30). Chambers said the city will be supporting the governor’s new order which allows some businesses to reopen under strict guidelines, but that the current 10:00 p.m. until 6:00 a.m. curfew in Forest will remain in effect until at least May 11 as will the ban on children under the age of 16 in local businesses.
“We are encouraging people to get out and go support these local businesses,” Chambers said, “but please don’t take your whole family with you.”
Lackey Memorial Hospital CEO, Sydney Sawyer, RN, said Tuesday that the spread of the virus in the county could be worse. “We’re about where we were last week,” Sawyer said. “I do think we have plateaued. We had 49 positive cases over the weekend, and about 45 negative in that same reporting time. It was the highest weekend we’ve had.”
Sawyer said that seven patients were in the hospital, but that only three had tested positive for COVID-19 at that time.
“The death toll is zero still and for us that is fantastic,” Sawyer said. “For the state that number is going down every day which is very exciting and I think we’ll get out from under this in another week or two. I think we surged two weekends ago and we’ve maintained and compared to what has happened in other counties we may be headed in the right direction.”
Sawyer said he has been in contact with State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs concerning Scott County currently being somewhat of a hot spot for the virus.
“I had some concerns and I do think we are kind of a hot spot right now,” Sawyer said. “He (Dobbs) is doing some investigating — started that yesterday. We’re actively seeking them (Mississippi Department of Health) to make sure that we are doing everything we can by catching things and we want them to know about what is going on here too. Dr. Dodds is concerned, hopefully concerned, but he felt like we were kind of plateauing as well.”
Sawyer reiterated that he believes one of the reasons there are so many positive cases in Scott County is “we’re testing a lot. We’re testing at the same level as a lot of those folks like Rankin and Madison counties. We’re testing as many as they are,” he said.
“I don’t think we can stop the spread of this thing,” Sawyer concluded. “I think with the testing we’ve caught people early and then just by the grace of God nobody has died. It is still dangerous but I think we’re heading in the right direction.”
As of Wednesday mornings report from the department of health there were 6,569 positive cases of COVID-19 in Mississippi and there had been 250 deaths from the virus. Scott County was reporting 296 cases, up 138 cases from the same time last week, with eight of those being in long term care facilities and zero deaths.
Reeves signed the new executive order last Friday encouraging Mississippi to continue protecting public health while beginning the process to safely reopen the state’s economy.
In this new order, the governor lays out a plan to reopen Mississippi while continuing to flatten the curve and conserve healthcare resources. In consultation with state health experts, the executive order sets out guidelines for certain business operations and healthcare activities to safely resume.
“This disease has not hit every American fairly. And the economic damage has not hit every American fairly. Wall Street and Hollywood will be fine. Mississippi small businesses and workers are not” Reeves said. “That’s who has been asked to shoulder the country’s burden. It’s not fair, and it’s not right. We are starting to re-open our economy. It’s not a light switch that only goes on and off. It’s a dimmer. We can take measured steps to make life better.”
In this latest executive order, the guidelines to continue flattening the curve, include:
• Mississippians are encouraged to stay at home unless they need to leave for essential activities or essential travel, such as caring for someone in the vulnerable population, getting food or necessary supplies, and going to work.
• All those in the vulnerable population are instructed to continue sheltering in place to protect their health. This includes all elderly individuals (age 65 or older per CDC guidelines) and individuals with serious underlying health conditions, including high blood pressure, chronic lung disease, diabetes, obesity, asthma, and those whose immune systems are compromised as such by chemotherapy for cancer or any other condition requiring such therapy.
• When outside of their homes, people must follow social distancing guidelines by maintaining a 6-foot distance from others and avoid groups of 10 or more.
• Social and other non-essential gatherings in groups of more than 10 people must be cancelled or rescheduled.
• Evictions are suspended, though people are still required to pay any rent or make any mortgage payments.
• Certain businesses previously closed under the shelter-in-place are allowed to reopen, while following health and safety mandates recommended by the Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH).
• Places of amusement or entertainment, like movie theaters and museums, and businesses that cannot avoid sustained person-to-person contact, like salons or gyms, will remain closed, other than curbside pick-up, drive-thru, or delivery for retails sale of their products but not services.
• All businesses and non-profit organizations are encouraged to continue allowing their employees to work from home or telework to all extent possible.
• Restaurants and bars may only remain open for drive-thru, curbside pick-up, and/or delivery service.
• Retail businesses are to implement reasonable measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19, including limiting the number of customers in their stores at one time to no greater than 50 percent of their store capacity and making hand sanitizer available to customers upon entry.
• Healthcare professionals and facilities may resume performing elective medical and dental procedures and surgeries as allowed and approved by MSDH. Such non-emergent procedures and surgeries should limit their use of disposable PPE and not request PPE from any public source.
Safer at Home FAQs can be found on the Governor’s website at governorreeves.ms.gov/covid-19.
