For the second straight day, the Mississippi State Department of Health is reporting over 2,000 new cases of COVID-19.
Today’s report of 2,168 new cases—which follows the state’s largest one-day rise on Wednesday—brings the state’s total up to 159,036. With the confirmation of *28 additional deaths, 3,879 Mississippians have now passed away from the virus.
*MSDH Note: One COVID-19 related death occurred November 19, identified from death certificate reports.
Overall hospitalizations saw a slight decline in the latest data from the MSDH but remain above 1,000.
Wednesday, the MSDH issued new public guidance advising Mississippians to avoid any non-essential activities. The order recommends that Mississippians only participate in work, school or other absolutely essential activities while avoiding the following activities:
- Social events or parties
- Family gatherings outside of the household or nuclear family
- Weddings
- Funerals (other than close family and preferably outdoors)
- Sporting events
- In-person church services
“We’re almost to a vaccine that looks very effective and very safe, we’ve got to just have a little bit of discipline right now, or else we’re going to see a lot more funerals,” State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is preparing to shorten the length of the recommended quarantine length from 14 days to 10 days after exposure without the presence of symptoms. That goes down to seven days with a negative test. State Epidemiologist Dr. Paul Byers stated that the MSDH will continue to review these new recommendations. In the meantime, the MSDH continues to recommend a full 14-day quarantine period.
