COVID-19 cases: Mississippi reports 1,784 new cases

By Mississippi Today | January 3, 2021

We are bringing you the latest COVID-19 Mississippi trends with daily case, death and hospitalization updates, as well as testing data charts and other helpful interactive maps and graphs.

This page was last updated Sunday, January 3:

New cases: 1,784 | New Deaths: 32

Total Hospitalizations: 1,456

Total cases:222,061| Total Deaths: 4,871

Mask Mandates | On Sept. 30, Gov. Tate Reeves ended the statewide mask mandate order, originally issued Aug. 4. Since then, he has added a total of 78 individual county mask mandates, covering half of the state. State health officials encourage widespread masking and credit the original mandate with helping cases improve after a steep summer spike. View the full list of COVID-19 orders here.

All data and information reported by the Mississippi State Department of Health as of 6 p.m. yesterday

Weekly update: Wednesday, December 16

By Alex Rozier

On Tuesday Mississippi hit a new record with the seven-day average for cases, reaching 2,196. After going nine months without reporting 2,000 cases in a day, the state has reached that point nine times in just the 16 days of December so far. 

On Dec. 9, Mississippi also hit a new high for total hospitalizations on the rolling average, surpassing the summer peak. The state had already reached a new high for confirmed hospitalizations at the end of November, but hadn’t yet for the total tally, which includes suspected cases as well.

As seen in MSDH’s illness onset chart, the record for most illnesses in a day — Dec. 11, with 2,442 — is within the last two-week period, meaning those numbers could still go up.  

Mississippi’s present rise in cases mirrors the national surge, as the state currently has the 26th most new cases per capita. According to the Harvard Global Health Institute tracker, every state except Vermont is now in the “red zone” (recording over 25 daily new cases per 100,000 people). 

The health department reports that 148,466 people are presumed covered as of Dec. 13.

Click through the links below to view our interactive charts describing the trends around the coronavirus in Mississippi:

View our COVID-19 resource page for more information about coronavirus in Mississippi.

The post COVID-19 cases: Mississippi reports 1,784 new cases appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Eric J. Shelton/Mississippi Today, Report For America

Gov. Tate Reeves is sworn into office during his inauguration ceremony at the Capitol in Jackson on Jan. 14, 2020.

The Mississippi Supreme Court’s recent decision proclaiming that legislators do not have standing to challenge the constitutionality of a governor’s partial veto could have “real world” consequences, said state Sen. Hob Bryan, D-Amory.

Bryan has a unique historical perspective on the issue. He was one of three legislators in the 1990s to file a lawsuit challenging whether then-Gov. Kirk Fordice had the constitutional authority to veto parts of multiple appropriations and revenue bills.

In that case, the Supreme Court said individual legislators did have standing to bring such lawsuits. In a December ruling, the Supreme Court said the court got it wrong in the Fordice case.

“The holding in Fordice granted any individual legislator the right to challenge vetoes…This finding was erroneous,” Chief Justice Michael Randolph wrote for the majority in December.

During oral arguments on the case in November, Randolph seemed to suggest it should be “the aggrieved party,” not individual legislators, filing a lawsuit. By aggrieved party, he was referencing entities that would not receive funding because of a partial veto.

In the most recent case, Gov. Tate Reeves issued partial vetoes totaling $8 million (two separate items) in a large bill that provided funds to various entities to battle the COVID-19 pandemic. He signed the rest of the bill into law. Based on Randolph’s comments made during oral arguments, the chief justice was surmising that those two entities not receiving the funds — not lawmakers — should file the lawsuit.

There are multiple reasons an entity might not want to sue a governor. Perhaps in the most recently decided case, the entities didn’t sue because they believed it wasn’t necessary, considering two of the most powerful legislators — House Speaker Philip Gunn and House Pro Tem Jason White — were doing so.

But regardless, Bryan points out that “in real world” scenarios, there might not be an aggrieved party to file such a suit.

The governor’s partial veto could be of language preventing an entity from receiving funds instead of language providing funds to an entity.

For instance, think of how things could have been different had the Legislature a few years ago placed language in the budget bill for the Department of Human Services preventing the agency from funneling money to a nonprofit that is now accused of misspending $94 million in taxpayer money in what has been described as the largest public corruption scandal in state history.

If the governor had issued a partial veto of that language, what aggrieved party would file the lawsuit?

The Department of Human Services wouldn’t file it, since the agency was the one wanting to funnel the money to the entity. In addition, Human Services reports directly to the governor. Its top leaders are appointed by the governor. It’s not likely that they would sue their boss.

“The Constitution says a governor can veto parts of appropriation bills,” Bryan said. “Some of these lawsuits will be good faith disputes where the governor has an expansive view of that language, and legislators have a narrow interpretation of the (partial veto authority) language.”

Bryan said it makes sense for the judiciary to settle those disputes. He said what was particularly troublesome in the most recent ruling was that the decision prohibited any effort to ask for a rehearing where some of those “real world problems” with the ruling could be revisited.

Another scenario that could prove troublesome is if the governor used the partial veto authority to strike language sending money to the judiciary for a program like drug courts. Could the judiciary that would be hearing the case file a lawsuit saying the partial veto was unconstitutional?

In the past, the Supreme Court has placed strict limitations on a governor’s partial veto authority. A governor could not veto so-called purposes or conditions of appropriations bills.

In other words, in the case of the drug court, the funding was sent to the judiciary with the condition that a certain amount of that funding would be spent on drug courts.

The most recent Supreme Court ruling seems to expand the governor’s partial veto authority. But it should be pointed out that Reeves’ partial veto was of an unusual appropriations bill since it sent money to multiple agencies. Normal appropriations bills send money to one agency that has the mandate to dispense those funds to various entities, such as drug courts.

It is reasonable to assume a future court could reach a different decision under different circumstances on a governor’s partial veto authority and limit it again.

But based on the most recent decision, there might not be an aggrieved party to challenge that authority.

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Lane Kiffin, center, runs to avoid getting doused with water by his team after Ole Miss defeated Indiana during the Outback Bowl on Saturday in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)

Starting running back Jerrion Ealy, the blur who wears No. 9 for Ole Miss, was injured and unable to play in Saturday’s Outback Bowl. No problem. The Rebels just moved on with talented backup Henry Parish Jr. and Snoop Conner, the third-team pile driver who would start for 95% of college football teams.

Leading receiver Elijah Moore, the best player in Mississippi college football this season, opted out of the bowl. So what? The Rebels just moved backup quarterback John Rhys Plumlee, the blur who wears No. 10, into the slot position, and he responded with five catches for 73 yards, including a crucial 44-yarder on the game winning drive. Tight end Kenny Yeboah, the second leading receiver, opted out, too. Again, no problem: Lane Kiffin turned to Casey Kelly, who caught six passes, including a touchdown, after catching only two passes all season long. Depth is such a wonderful commodity in college football.

So it was that backups and third-string skill position players played key roles in the Rebels’ 26-20 victory over No. 11 Indiana on what appeared a spectacular Florida afternoon. So did quarterback Matt Corral, a future pro who was backup to Plumlee for much of 2019. So did an offensive line that generally mauled the Hoosiers’ usually stout defensive front. So did a much-maligned Ole Miss defense, which bowed up with the game on the line.

Rick Cleveland

This was a day that began with the news that Ole Miss has extended the contract of first-year head coach Lane Kiffin, who was 5-5 against a schedule that included nine SEC games and the bowl game.

“This is an investment in the future of the Ole Miss football program,” athletic director Keith Carter said of the extension, adding … “The future is bright.”

It certainly looks that way, especially on the offensive side of the ball. But the key for Ole Miss to become an SEC contender again is to build up the same kind of ability and depth on defense and across the offensive line that the Rebels now enjoy at the offensive skill positions.

Simply put: To successfully contend with the likes of Alabama, LSU, Texas A&M and others, Ole Miss has to become as skilled and deep across the lines, at linebacker and in the defensive secondary as the Rebels now are at the offensive skill positions. And, yes, that is asking a lot.

Keith Carter will tell you the Rebels took a step in that direction with the most recent recruiting class, which went heavy on improving the defense. And that may be. But 247Sports.com, one of the most widely respected national recruiting websites, rated Ole Miss No. 19 in the nation, which sounds splendid until you see that Alabama was No. 1, LSU No. 5, and Texas A&M No. 7. Georgia, Florida and Tennessee also ranked ahead of Ole Miss. So, No. 19 in the nation computes to No. 7 in the SEC in recruiting.

It’s a brutally tough league. But you knew that, and so did Kiffin when he took the job.

Ole Miss has the one ingredient every successful team must have: an elite quarterback. Corral completed 30 of 44 throws for 342 yards and two touchdowns without throwing an interception. You can count on one hand the number of college teams that had a quarterback as proficient as Corral this season. And it’s not just his arm. He can run when he needs to, which he did seven times for 37 yards Saturday. He’s tough. His team seems to rally around him. He has “it.”

All season long it seemed such a shame to have another immensely talented player such as Plumlee watching from the sidelines. Here’s a multitalented athlete, as fast as they come, who ran for 109 yards against Alabama and 212 yards against national champion LSU in 2019. I mean, Alabama and LSU defensive backs often thought they had the angle on him — and then he was gone. Seems to this observer he may have found the right position if he wants to have a future in football. He can turn a seven-yard slant into a 70-yard touchdown in a heartbeat.

“We were down to four scholarship receivers,” Kiffin said. “For a guy to play only one week at receiver … it’s a remarkable kid to be able to do that. You can’t just do that. This isn’t Pop Warner, you know, we’re in major college football playing Top 10 teams…”

Said Plumlee, “I really enjoy quarterback but this week has been really fun at wide receiver. I feel really blessed to be in the position I am in and have two right answers. … I’m unsure about it. I’ve got to do some praying about it.”

Can Kiffin convince Plumlee that’s where he needs to be? Is Plumlee dead-set on playing quarterback?

We shall see.

What appears certain is that playing either of those positions in Kiffin’s scheme looks a delightfully fun proposition. Watching Ole Miss for much of this season was like watching some of Steve Spurrier’s offenses back in the day. Receivers run so wide open you’d swear they must smell bad or something.

The problem, of course, is that often the opponents’ receivers have run just as free with little or no rush on the quarterback. And, too often, opponents’ running backs have run into the secondary before they are even touched.

Therein lies the challenge. A mighty one.

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COVID-19 cases: Mississippi reports 1,891 new cases

By Mississippi Today | January 2, 2021

We are bringing you the latest COVID-19 Mississippi trends with daily case, death and hospitalization updates, as well as testing data charts and other helpful interactive maps and graphs.

This page was last updated Saturday, January 2:

New cases: 1,891 | New Deaths: 24

Total Hospitalizations: 1,456

Total cases:220,277| Total Deaths: 4,840

Mask Mandates | On Sept. 30, Gov. Tate Reeves ended the statewide mask mandate order, originally issued Aug. 4. Since then, he has added a total of 78 individual county mask mandates, covering half of the state. State health officials encourage widespread masking and credit the original mandate with helping cases improve after a steep summer spike. View the full list of COVID-19 orders here.

All data and information reported by the Mississippi State Department of Health as of 6 p.m. yesterday

Weekly update: Wednesday, December 16

By Alex Rozier

On Tuesday Mississippi hit a new record with the seven-day average for cases, reaching 2,196. After going nine months without reporting 2,000 cases in a day, the state has reached that point nine times in just the 16 days of December so far. 

On Dec. 9, Mississippi also hit a new high for total hospitalizations on the rolling average, surpassing the summer peak. The state had already reached a new high for confirmed hospitalizations at the end of November, but hadn’t yet for the total tally, which includes suspected cases as well.

As seen in MSDH’s illness onset chart, the record for most illnesses in a day — Dec. 11, with 2,442 — is within the last two-week period, meaning those numbers could still go up.  

Mississippi’s present rise in cases mirrors the national surge, as the state currently has the 26th most new cases per capita. According to the Harvard Global Health Institute tracker, every state except Vermont is now in the “red zone” (recording over 25 daily new cases per 100,000 people). 

The health department reports that 148,466 people are presumed covered as of Dec. 13.

Click through the links below to view our interactive charts describing the trends around the coronavirus in Mississippi:

View our COVID-19 resource page for more information about coronavirus in Mississippi.

The post COVID-19 cases: Mississippi reports 1,891 new cases appeared first on Mississippi Today.

‘We will take it from here’: Homily in memory of former Gov. William Winter

BY ROB LOWRY | Jan. 1, 2021

Editor’s note: The COVID-19 pandemic kept the family of Gov. William Winter from having a funeral service following his death on Dec. 19, 2020. The Reverend Dr. Robert William Lowry, Gov. Winter’s pastor at Fondren Presbyterian Church in Jackson, wrote this homily and shared it with Mississippi Today.

It has been said that the Grand Canyon is one of those rare things in life that does not disappoint when you see it in real life.

William Winter was the Grand Canyon.

I first met Governor Winter in 1992. I was a junior at Millsaps College. He was the senior statesman of Mississippi. The short time we visited at a breakfast fundraiser for then candidate Bill Clinton sealed the deal for me. From that day on, I was a William Winter Democrat.

I did not know that morning in 1992 that 25 years later I would meet my hero again. This time our roles were somewhat different. I was a candidate for the position of pastor at Fondren Presbyterian Church, and he was the search committee’s ace in the hole. Walking into the church library that Tuesday morning, I already knew that Fondren was the place for me. Seeing Governor Winter just sealed the deal.

Over the next four years, the man I respected as a public servant became a friend.

Governor Winter was a kind of public servant almost entirely absent on the scene today. He led with a passion for justice and a compassion for his neighbor that was born not of selfish ambition but a sense of responsibility and a profound belief in the promise and possibility of a better tomorrow. Acutely aware of the advantages his hard work and education had earned, he set about to work for the betterment of his home state. That commitment to leave Mississippi better than he found it was the cornerstone of a public life that helped shape our state for half of one century and into the next.

As I reflected on the life of William Winter and how I would possibly do it justice in a short homily, my mind returned time and time again to a passage from the Gospel of Matthew. “But when you pray, go to your room, shut the door, and pray to your Father who is present in that secret place.” The William Winter I came to know as a man of faith was as shaped by humility of spirit and gentleness of character as the politician I looked up to as a young man.

Beneath his accomplishments as a politician, a public servant, a visionary for a better Mississippi, and an advocate for a more just and equitable world was a humble and hopeful faith. It was that faith that let him see a world beyond the limitations of the moment. He was a dreamer of big dreams and when our imaginations failed us, he was there to help us see through his lens of hope.

During one of my first visits with William and Elise, the conversation turned to his time on the President’s Advisory Board on Race during the Clinton administration. Combatting racism and working for racial reconciliation are, he estimated, some of the most important work a public servant or private citizen can do. He recognized that racism does not always announce itself in the public square. It all too often hides in the structural disparities of society. The only way to fight the structures of racism is to reform the structures that promote it.

Embedded in his lifelong work for better access to education was a conviction that equality in life begins with equality in access to the tools for a successful life. He accepted as beyond debate the maxim that rich or poor, urban or rural, Black or white, every child deserves the same access to quality education. The mandates of a just society will settle for nothing less.

Acutely aware of the capacity of humanity for sin and selfishness, he challenged us to heed the better angels of our natures. He remained confident that in the fullness of time, the wisdom of justice would revive us from our trance of apathy and cynicism. In a speech at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary in 2006, he warned the assembled pastors-to-be of, “…those most fatal, trance-inducing drugs of apathy, skepticism, and cynicism mixed in with a large dose of greed.”

This fall, when our state adopted a new flag, it was in no small part due to his leadership two decades ago. A failed ballot initiative in 2001 was merely the start of a campaign for justice that would not end until the symbol of our state represented the best rather than the worst of who we are as a people. William Winter believed in the wisdom of the people of this state to make the right choice. I am grateful providence saw fit for him to see that day come to be.

I thought for the last years that I would speak these or similar words to our gathered community as we gave thanks to God for William’s life and shared in our memories, sorrow, and gratitude together. Like so many parts of our lives, the pandemic disrupted those plans. We are left to remember this gracious, compassionate, and gentle man in the quiet of our own hearts. Perhaps that is a blessing more than it is a curse. William Winter led with his heart, and I can think of no better place than the quiet of our own to prepare for the awesome privilege of carrying on his work.

In our tradition we say that William’s baptism is now complete in death. His race is over, and his victory is won.

All that is left to say is, rest well, my friend. We will take it from here.

READ MORE: “One of the greatest Mississippians”: Former Gov. William Winter remembered by friends, dignitaries.

The post ‘We will take it from here’: Homily in memory of former Gov. William Winter appeared first on Mississippi Today.

COVID-19 cases: Mississippi reports 2,575 new cases

By Mississippi Today | January 1, 2021

We are bringing you the latest COVID-19 Mississippi trends with daily case, death and hospitalization updates, as well as testing data charts and other helpful interactive maps and graphs.

This page was last updated Friday, January 1:

New cases: 2,575 | New Deaths: 29

Total Hospitalizations: 1,456

Total cases:218,386| Total Deaths: 4,816

Mask Mandates | On Sept. 30, Gov. Tate Reeves ended the statewide mask mandate order, originally issued Aug. 4. Since then, he has added a total of 78 individual county mask mandates, covering half of the state. State health officials encourage widespread masking and credit the original mandate with helping cases improve after a steep summer spike. View the full list of COVID-19 orders here.

All data and information reported by the Mississippi State Department of Health as of 6 p.m. yesterday

Weekly update: Wednesday, December 16

By Alex Rozier

On Tuesday Mississippi hit a new record with the seven-day average for cases, reaching 2,196. After going nine months without reporting 2,000 cases in a day, the state has reached that point nine times in just the 16 days of December so far. 

On Dec. 9, Mississippi also hit a new high for total hospitalizations on the rolling average, surpassing the summer peak. The state had already reached a new high for confirmed hospitalizations at the end of November, but hadn’t yet for the total tally, which includes suspected cases as well.

As seen in MSDH’s illness onset chart, the record for most illnesses in a day — Dec. 11, with 2,442 — is within the last two-week period, meaning those numbers could still go up.  

Mississippi’s present rise in cases mirrors the national surge, as the state currently has the 26th most new cases per capita. According to the Harvard Global Health Institute tracker, every state except Vermont is now in the “red zone” (recording over 25 daily new cases per 100,000 people). 

The health department reports that 148,466 people are presumed covered as of Dec. 13.

Click through the links below to view our interactive charts describing the trends around the coronavirus in Mississippi:

View our COVID-19 resource page for more information about coronavirus in Mississippi.

The post COVID-19 cases: Mississippi reports 2,575 new cases appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Mississippi State linebacker De’Monte Russell and Tulsa safety TieNeal Martin fight after time runs out in the Armed Forces Bowl NCAA college football game Thursday, Dec. 31, 2020, in Fort Worth, Texas. (AP Photo/Jim Cowsert)

You could not write a more fitting end to the 2020 Mississippi sports year, one that began with such high expectations but was hijacked and then ravaged by a pandemic.

I am talking about the New Year’s Eve ending of the Armed Forces Bowl, of course. There was Mississippi State, 3-7 on the season, playing Tulsa in Fort Worth in weather only ducks could love — miserably freezing and wet. A just reward for a great season? I’ll leave that for the cynics who live among us. They do, you know.

State won 28-26 in a hard-fought, if not particularly well-played game that was never aesthetically pleasing but turned brutally ugly after the final horn. That’s when a full-scale brawl erupted with punching, kicking, sucker-punching, wrestling, stomping — well, you name it. This went far beyond “boys will be boys.” This was the kind of brawl that more often occurs in a bar near closing time. Police, had they been on the field, could have made several arrests.

State coach Mike Leach provided some perhaps unintended levity to the situation when interviewed by ESPN postgame. What would Leach tell his players, concerning the postgame brawl?

“Don’t do it any more,” Leach deadpanned. “I mean, yeah, well, it’s dumb you know.”

Leach said more later. He said that his team had experienced no such problems in 10 previous games — thus inferring Tulsa was to blame — while also saying he hadn’t seen enough “to let us off the hook by any stretch.”

Rick Cleveland

My prediction: When he does see the film, there are sequences that definitely will not make him proud.

“The root of it is dumb no matter what the root of it was,” Leach said. “The continuation of it was dumb. I would have it solidly in the category of dumb. Where the dumb started I am not entirely sure.”

It was beyond dumb — on both sides. And here I am 440 miles away from it, trying to write about it, which is difficult — if not dumb — because I can only write what TV cameras showed, which surely isn’t all that happened.

And I am not alone in that regard. The crackerjack Mississippi State radio team of Neil Price and former Bulldog quarterback Matt Wyatt did their broadcast remotely from Starkville, watching the same ESPN broadcast as you and me. (COVID-19 has changed almost everything about sports this year.)

“It was interesting, to say the least,” Wyatt said later Saturday. “I think it was harder for Neil because he has to describe the action and he can’t see all of what is happening. I just had to comment on what I can see.”

The brawl?

“We were doing our postgame wrap-up while TV was on a commercial break,” Wyatt said. “We were right in the middle of doing that, and then they come back on and there’s fighting going on all over the field.”

All hell, as they say, had broken loose.

“Now, I will say this,” Wyatt continued. “It started in the pregame with a lot of chirping and jawing and stuff like that and it continued into the game. I commented early in the game that there was too much of that going on and they needed to get a handle on it. We saw what happens when you let stuff like that go on and on.”

We surely did.

The game was chippy throughout, with players playing through the whistle and sometimes beyond.

There were 18 penalties, not including those that were declined. Those penalties went for 162 yards, which was for more than either team rushed.

Statistically, Tulsa would appear the winner: with 484 yards and 27 first downs to 271 yards and 16 first downs for State. But one thing about 2020 COVID-19 didn’t change: turnovers are most often the difference. Tulsa turned it over twice, State not once.

State’s bowl victory on the last day of 2020 also provided something I had never seen before: a punt during which the State punter apparently injured himself while hitting the ground first, instead of the ball. In golf, we’d say he hit it fat or chili-dipped it. It went for zero yards, precisely. I felt his pain.

It was that kind of day. It has been that kind of year. If 2020 were to be described as a punt, that would be the punt. If 2020 were a game, this might have been the game.

Much was made pregame about State playing in a bowl game with a 3-7 record, just as there will be about Ole Miss playing in a bowl game with a 4-5 record. Well, here’s the deal: Both played all Southeastern Conference games. There were no gimmes. Well, there was Vanderbilt, but you get the idea. In a normal season (playing eight league games and four easier ones), State probably would have finished 6-6 and gone to a bowl. Ole Miss probably would have finished 7-5 — and gone to a bowl.

So both have gotten a few extra days of practice. And State has achieved a victory over a Tulsa team that was ranked No. 24 in the nation beforehand. Now, Ole Miss will try its hand with seventh-ranked and 6-1 Indiana in the Outback Bowl in Tampa on Saturday.

The weather should be far, far better. Hopefully, that also will be true of the postgame decorum.

The post A New Year’s Eve bowl game that matched 2020: State 28, Tulsa 26, decorum 0 appeared first on Mississippi Today.