In a live news conference delivered on social media Friday afternoon, Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves announced that he has signed a Safer at Home executive order. The new order eases restrictions on Mississippi retail businesses some, as compared to the Shelter in Place order he signed on April 1, but still bans social gatherings of more than 10 people and all non-essential gatherings.
Those bans “will be enforced,” noted the governor.
Retail outlets must reduce their normal in-store capacity by 50 percent and follow CDC and Mississippi State Department of Health guidelines in order to open.
“The Safer at Home order is not a return to normal,” said Reeves. “I wish it was.”
Some of the businesses not being allowed to open include movie theaters, bars, museums, nail salons, barber shops, gyms, clubs, tattoo parlors and casinos. Schools have already been closed until at least the fall semester. Restaurants can continue to offer drive-through, delivery and curbside services, but they are not allowed to reopen their dining rooms yet. Reeves also said that municipalities have the right to issue stricter guidelines than what the new order imposes, but the entire state must meet the minimum expectations outlined by Safer at Home.
Health officials will be allowed to do more medical and dental procedures but must operate under certain CDC and MSDH mandates.
“I want you to open, but we’re just not there yet,” added Reeves. He said the decisions he and his advisors are making are based on data and science.
Reeves commended Mississippians for following the guidelines recommended by health and government officials for the past several weeks, saying that their efforts have helped mitigate the highly contagious coronavirus. He pointed out that the top national models predicted three weeks ago that Mississippi on today’s date would have nearly 9,000 patients in hospital beds, over 1,300 in ICU beds, over 1,000 on ventilators and 90 deaths – all due to COVID-19. Instead, the numbers are much better than predicted. Due to the coronavirus, Mississippi today has 401 in hospital beds, 148 in ICU beds, 74 on ventilators and eight deaths statewide (from yesterday’s daily count). The latest numbers from the MSDH reveal that Mississippi has had 5,434 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 209 total deaths.
“Thank you for your dedication to this fight, and I want you to know you are winning. You are flattening the curve,” Reeves said. “We are containing the virus in our state. We haven’t seen the rapid spike predicted by many.
“I do not share these statistics to minimize any individual suffering,” he continued. “Behind every number is a name, and every single death in Mississippi is a tragedy.”
Despite the positive numbers, the governor said the fight is not over, which is why he, Dr. Thomas Dobbs, the state’s health officer, and others are advising a measured, cautious return to normal.
“We can’t pretend this is over. The fight must go on,” warned Reeves.
The new order goes into effect Monday, April 27 at 8:00 a.m. and will last for two weeks. Tenant evictions are prohibited in the state right now, since Mississippians are still required to stay at home unless travel is essential.