Neighbors, churches, civic groups, local governments and even kind strangers have joined hands to help devastated communities in Jones and Jasper counties recover from the powerful tornadoes that roared through our area on Easter Sunday, April 12. Many have operated heavy equipment or chainsaws to reduce the massive amounts of debris that filled yards and clogged roadways, others have served meals or helped to pick up windblown treasures and trash, and some have made charitable contributions to churches or organizations like Glory House or The Samaritan’s Purse.
All of the efforts, both physical and financial, are much needed in the clean-up process that will last for quite some time.
While the Pine Belt rebuilds after the severe storms, much of the nation is still focused on the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic ruin it has caused in both domestic and foreign markets. As of Monday morning, the number of confirmed cases in the U.S. was approaching 775,000 with over 41,000 deaths. Nearly 71,000 U.S. residents have recovered from the disease.
Civil unrest has been developing in some states, as residents are struggling to pay mortgages and other bills.
A few states are now seeing their residents take to the streets, demanding that they be allowed to return to their jobs.
Some 22+ million Americans are now out of work, and that number is growing daily as more former workers file for unemployment. Those staggering numbers come on the heels of what was arguably one of the country’s finest two-year financial runs in history. The fiscal fallout and burgeoning civil unrest has the full attention of the state’s governors and The White House, which last week announced it was working with the states on a multiple-phased reboot of the country’s economy. The states purportedly will be given autonomy on how to proceed with getting their people back to work, and some are now moving forward to reopen their economies. Florida, as one example, just partially reopened beaches as a small step. Governor Tate Reeves asked on Friday that Mississippians “shelter in place” until April 27. Only time will tell if the reboot arrived soon enough or if the financial fallout of COVID-19 will last long after the disease’s mortality impact has been constrained.
Local officials are still urging residents to be cognizant of COVID-19 and to practice the much-publicized recommendations to stymie the progress of the disease, such as social distancing and sheltering in place.
According to numbers posted by the Mississippi State Department of Health on Monday, the total number of cases reported in our state increased to 4,512 with 169 deaths.
The number of confirmed cases and deaths in the local area is as follows:
*Forrest – 147 cases with 4 deaths;
*Jasper – 23 cases with 1 death;
*Jones – 74 cases with 0 deaths;
*Lamar – 71 cases with 2 deaths;
*Smith – 47 cases with 2 deaths; and
*Wayne – 12 cases with 0 deaths.
Lauderdale County is leading the state with 15 COVID-19 deaths, while Pearl River County and Leflore County each reported 10 deaths. Those statistics from Monday revealed a jump of 238 new cases and 10 new deaths since the last reporting. The numbers are updated daily by the MSDH.
Governor Tate Reeves, who last week toured parts of our area hit by the storms, warns that COVID-19 is still a real threat to Mississippians.
By comparison, in the U.S. there have been over 39 million flu illnesses, 18 to 26 million flu medical visits, and between 24,000 and 62,000 flu-related deaths this season. Those estimated numbers were released by the CDC.