Face masks are now required to enter the Jones County courthouses. In fact, an order adopted by the county’s supervisors on Monday morning, July 20 requires the wearing of face masks in all county-operated buildings by employees and visitors.
The requirement follows an uptick in COVID-19 cases in Mississippi, which has now reached 43,889 confirmed or probable cases and 1,358 deaths through July 19. Nearly half of the deaths (651) in Mississippi have come from long-term care facilities. In Jones County there have been 1,382 confirmed or probable COVID-19 cases with 53 deaths. Over 65 percent of those deaths (35) in Jones have been in long-term care facilities.
Governor Tate Reeves announced Monday that 10 additional counties were being added to the list of counties where residents are required to wear face masks by his executive order. Jones County was not one of those counties. Reeves’ order is now in effect in 23 total counties.
The county will not be supplying face masks to employees or visitors entering the county’s buildings. Emergency Operations Center Director Paul Sheffield said every local resident should have at least one face mask by now, since the county has given away between 75,000 and 80,000 of them since the pandemic was declared.
Board President Johnny Burnett was in favor of the face mask mandate, saying “Covid is getting worse. How far do we have to go?”
Burnett relayed to attendees of Monday’s board meeting that one of his Beat 1 employees had really struggled to survive the virus.
“God’s healing hand brought him through,” he said.
“Not wearing face masks has not worked,” added Beat 5 Supervisor Travares Comegys. “At this point we should try something, try to slow it down.”
At the request of Chancery Court Clerk Bart Gavin, the supervisors also closed all entrances into the Laurel Courthouse, except the north one, which is handicapped accessible. The supervisors agreed to pay Pro-Tech Security $48,000 for a one-year contract to station a security guard at that north-side entrance. Pro-Tech will provide a metal detector that has the capability to check the temperature of anyone entering the building.