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Mississippi emergency room visits by suspected or confirmed COVID-19 patients is now the highest it’s been since the pandemic began in early 2020. 

The peak of 1,077 visits seen during the first week of January was eclipsed last week with 1,218 visits. The number of weekly COVID-related ER visits has increased 150% over the past month alone. This surge in emergency room visits is being caused by the Delta variant of the coronavirus, which is up to two times as infectious as the original strain of COVID-19. 

Unvaccinated Mississippians are driving this surge in cases, deaths, hospitalizations and emergency room visits the state is experiencing. Between June 1 and August 1, 97% of COVID-19 cases, 89% of hospitalizations and 85% of deaths were among the unvaccinated. 

In some areas of the state, patients who would normally be in an ICU are having to receive care in an emergency room because there are no ICU beds available, according to Jim Craig, director of health protection for the Mississippi State Department of Health.

The state is currently averaging 131 new COVID-19 hospitalizations per day. Only 108 of the 827 adult ICU beds in Mississippi are currently open, with multiple hospitals across the state at maximum capacity.

“This is far exceeding our hospitals’ capacity to take care of them,” said State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs said.

READ MORE: COVID-19 has killed thousands of Mississippians this year. All but 37 were unvaccinated.

As scientists continue to collect data on the newest variant that is spreading rapidly, medical experts continue to reiterate that vaccination remains the best protection against contracting the Delta variant. The nation’s leading medical researchers agree that vaccines are nearly as effective against the Delta variant as the original strain, greatly minimizing the chance of infection and nearly eliminating the risks of developing a serious illness.

Studies suggest, however, that being fully vaccinated is the only adequate protection against the Delta variant, as a single shot of either of the two-dose mRNA vaccines provides only weak protection against infection. Of the 2,400 Mississippians who died of COVID-19 between Jan. 1 and July 22 of this year, only 37 were fully vaccinated.

Though Mississippi is no longer last in the nation for the share of its population that has been vaccinated, it still trails 48 other states. Only 34% of Mississippians have been fully vaccinated, according to data compiled by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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This photo gallery is part of our new initiative, MT Listens. Learn more about the project here or be part of it by taking our survey.

Take a virtual stroll through Canton, a historic Mississippi community with about 12,000 residents, through the lens of Mississippi Today photojournalist Vickie King.

Canton is just one of five communities our newsroom is focusing on for our community listening project, MT Listens. The others are Yazoo City, Forest, Moss Point and New Albany.

Be part of the project.

If you live in Canton, Yazoo City, Forest, Moss Point or New Albany, please take a minute to fill out the below survey, or share it with someone you know.

The post Canton: Small town, big charm appeared first on Mississippi Today.

The fate of the Holmes County Consolidated School District now rests in the hands of Gov. Tate Reeves.

The State Board of Education voted unanimously on Tuesday to request that Reeves immediately declare a state of extreme emergency in the district which would place it under state control. The current school superintendent would be replaced and the local school board would be abolished. The state board would serve in its place.

The State Board of Education also recommended Jennifer Wilson, the former superintendent of Greenwood School District, serve as interim superintendent for the district should a state of emergency be declared.

Except for Gov. Phil Bryant’s alternate approach to declaring a state of emergency in Jackson Public Schools in 2017, a governor has never declined to sign off on the state board’s recommendation. The state has placed schools in this model, which is now termed a “District of Transformation,” 20 times since since 1997.

The results of a nearly 400-page audit conducted by the Mississippi Department of Education include allegations of a dysfunctional school board and administration, improper spending, inaccurate record keeping and unlicensed teachers in the classroom. 

The audit, which took place over the course of three months, also repeatedly refers to a lack of accurate data provided by the district, making it impossible to assess some standards or to determine the degree to which the district was noncompliant in others.

State Superintendent of Education Carey Wright spoke only once during the board’s five-hour-long meeting on Tuesday to clarify how the department came to this point.

“When audits are complete and we then sit down and look at the findings, we have a choice at that time. We can either make a recommendation to withdraw or reduce their accreditation status … but we can also look at data and say, ‘No, actually we really do believe a state of emergency exists,’” she explained. “… That is an option we take, a discussion that we have prior to making any type of recommendation.”

District officials like the newly appointed superintendent Debra Powell and Board President Louise Winters argued that the district was already working to correct the problems it had.

“We are not who that audit says we are. Not today,” Powell told the board. “We are doing things differently.”

But she did not manage to convince the department of this.

Board member Karen Elam asked Paula Vanderford, the department’s chief accountability officer, whether she saw different practices and policies under the new superintendent.

“Many of the reports indicate the practices that existed prior to this administration still exist,” replied Vanderford.

A declaration of a state of emergency in the district would mean the district’s accreditation could be withdrawn; an interim superintendent would be appointed and remain there until the district reaches a grade of C or higher for five years; the local school board would be temporarily disbanded; and the interim superintendent would work with district staff to correct all accreditation violations and raise student achievement.

If such a declaration occurs, officials from the Mississippi Department of Education will meet with administration, faculty and staff from the district, then with parents and community leaders during a series of evening meetings.

The board’s request for a proclamation expires Aug. 17.

The post State Board of Education asks Gov. Reeves to pave way for state takeover of Holmes County schools appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Of the 2,400 Mississippians who died of COVID-19 between Jan. 1 and July 22 of this year, only 37 were fully vaccinated, according to data obtained from the Mississippi State Department of Health.

That means 98.4% of the people who died from COVID-19 during that period were unvaccinated, while 1.6% were vaccinated people who experienced breakthrough infections. All 37 of the breakthrough deaths were from high-risk patients aged 65 or older. 

MSDH reported 4,991 new COVID-19 cases and 13 deaths on Monday, further documenting the hold the virus’ Delta variant has on the state.

As scientists continue to collect data on the newest variant that is spreading rapidly, medical experts continue to reiterate that vaccination remains the best protection against contracting the Delta variant. The nation’s leading medical researchers agree that vaccines are nearly as effective against the Delta variant as the original strain, greatly minimizing the chance of infection and nearly eliminating the risks of developing a serious illness.

Studies suggest, however, that being fully vaccinated is the only adequate protection against the Delta variant, as a single shot of either of the two-dose mRNA vaccines provides only weak protection against infection.

With the Delta variant infecting minors at higher rates than the original strain of COVID-19, and those under 12 still ineligible for vaccination, State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs has said that Mississippians need to create a “protective cocoon” of vaccinated people around children to protect them from the virus and keep them in school. 

“This is going to take all of society trying to protect our kids,” Dobbs said. “Because if we don’t, I do think we’re going to have a lot more kids getting COVID. Most kids will get over just fine, but some are going to have a lot more trouble.”

READ MORE: Teachers union calls on Reeves to mandate masks in schools

The threat posed by the Delta variant does appear to be motivating an uptick in vaccinations; over the past two weeks, Mississippi has seen a 56% increase in vaccinations.

Though Mississippi is no longer last in the nation for the share of its population that has been vaccinated, it still trails 48 other states. Only 34% of Mississippians have been fully vaccinated, according to data compiled by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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With Delta being as contagious as chicken pox, this school year will face serious headwinds.

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The Holmes County Consolidated School District is one step closer to being taken over by the state.

The state education department’s accreditation commission voted unanimously on Monday to recommend that a state of emergency, or a situation that threatens the safety, security and educational interests of students, exists in the school district. 

The matter will now go to the State Board of Education, which will meet Tuesday to determine whether it will recommend the governor declare the need for a takeover. 

The Mississippi Department of Education and the school district on Monday made presentations and answered questions to the commission. 

Debra Powell, the superintendent of the district as of mid-May, argued that she is already implementing solutions to many of the issues highlighted in a nearly 400-page audit by the Mississippi Department of Education. The report found the district in violation of 81% of state accreditation standards for schools.

“Most of it (the findings) is actually accurate,” said Powell. “That’s why the board, in its wisdom, decided to chart a new course and change directions. We have some good things that are happening in Holmes County despite that audit.”

She said she started looking at the problems in the district on “day one” as superintendent.

“Why interrupt the progress we’ve made? We’re doing the same things (a conservator or interim superintendent) would do,” said Powell. “We have qualified, capable people who are working.”

Powell and the district’s attorney Clarence Webster argued that the actual emergency existed in 2019 and 2020 when the finances were in shambles, and when the high school “turned into a virtual fight club” last school year during the pandemic.

But the state education department said the district was, and still is, in violation of all nine accreditation policies, or governing principles for the success of a school district academically, organizationally and financially. 

Failure to comply with just one is a condition for withdrawal of a school district’s accreditation, Paula Vanderford, chief accountability officer, said. 

For example, Vanderford pointed out that the district’s textbooks were outdated, with some students using books from 1997.

Powell said new textbooks had been ordered and that the district was transition to a digital curriculum, but Felicia Gavin, the chief of operations for the department, said there was no evidence those materials had been purchased.

An investigative audit of the district found its finances in disarray, including bank accounts that aren’t reconciled, attempts to purchase “high dollar assets” such as a vehicle for the superintendent without going through proper protocols, and nearly $1 million in questioned federal funds. 

Vanderford also informed the commission of the F-rated district’s “pattern of poor academic performance” since 2014. 

In 2019, the last year for which testing data is available, the district ranked in the bottom five percent of districts in both reading and math proficiency. It also had the lowest science proficiency rating in the state.

Joe Goff, general counsel for the Mississippi Department of Education, described the findings about students with disabilities not being properly identified and given the services they need as “heartbreaking.” 

If the governor declares a state of emergency in Holmes County, the State Board of Education will become the governing body of the school district. The local school board will be temporarily disbanded, and an interim superintendent will be appointed to lead the district until it sustains an accountability rating of C or higher over multiple years. 

The state has placed a school district in a conservatorship 20 times since 1997. Current Districts of Transformation, as they are referred to, include the Tunica and Noxubee County School Districts. 

The post ‘Extreme emergency’ exists in Holmes County schools, commission says appeared first on Mississippi Today.

As part of its Single Audit Report for the 2020 fiscal year, the Mississippi auditor’s office sampled 180 Medicaid beneficiaries and found that nine of them were ineligible due to the high income reported on their state tax returns.

On average, those nine reported income levels $10,727 above the threshold for Medicaid enrollment.

In addition to the nine individuals flagged in the sample, two people who own multi-million dollar homes and declared high incomes on their tax returns, despite receiving Medicaid benefits, had already been flagged as potential fraud cases to investigate. 

Under current state law, the Mississippi Division of Medicaid does not have the legal authority to obtain state income tax returns to compare them with the income declared by a person applying for Medicaid benefits. State Auditor Shad White is now calling on Gov. Tate Reeves and the Legislature to grant this authority so that potential fraud can be prevented on the front end. 

“I stand ready to work with Medicaid’s leadership to argue to lawmakers that they should have this tool in their toolbox,” White said in a press release. “It could stop ineligible applicants from being put on the program in the first place. We know this tool would be useful because Medicaid’s internal policies state they should ask an applicant for their return, but without the authority to get the return and a requirement to use it, the state is potentially handing out millions to ineligible people.”

In a statement, the Mississippi Division of Medicaid (DOM) said it does not agree that the use of state tax returns would help root out fraud, as the tax information used by the auditor’s office in this case is from more than a year before the person applied for Medicaid. DOM is required to base eligibility on current income and noted that “financial information that far out of date may not accurately reflect the current circumstances of applicants.”

In June 2019, the most recent month for which figures are available, 673,247 Mississippians were enrolled in Medicaid.

The post Auditor says state may be paying out millions in fraudulent Medicaid benefits appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Brittney Reese of Gulfport and Ole Miss goes for Olympic gold Monday in Tokyo, still another chapter in Mississippi’s long and rich history of long jumping excellence.

We are often called a football state because so many of our small-town heroes go on to record-setting pro football stardom. In recent years, we have been more of a baseball state because of our well-documented college baseball excellence.

But, on a global basis, we probably should be known more as a long jumping state. Again, our history in the event is incredibly rich, including Reese, perhaps the most decorated Mississippi long jumper of all – which is saying something. She is a seven-time world champion, a 13-time national champ. She has won both gold and silver Olympic medals. She was an NCAA champion at Ole Miss. At 34, she is competing in her fourth Olympics – and that’s not even the most by a Mississippi woman.

The late Willye B. White holds that distinction – and if you’ve never heard of White, here’s a quick history lesson. Born on New Year’s Eve, 1939, in the Delta town of Money, she was raised by share-cropping grandparents. At 10, as a fourth grader, she began competing and winning ribbons for her high school track team. She did this while spending many days picking cotton for money to help feed her family.

She did it all: sprinted, long-jumped, high-jumped and as a young teen often won track meets by herself. That’s right: She accumulated more points than many other teams while competing for Broad Street High in Greenwood. 

And here is one of my favorite stories in all of Mississippi sports: In 1956, at 16, White competed in the Olympics at Melbourne, winning the silver medal in the long jump. Imagine: 16  years young, a 10th grader – from one of the poorest towns, in one of the poorest counties in the poorest state in the U.S. – and she won the first U.S. Olympic women’s long jump medal in history. 

How in the world did she accomplish that?

“A dream without a plan is just a wish,” White once said.

Willye B. White clearly had a plan. So did Larry Myricks and Ralph Boston, two more Mississippi long jumpers to claim international fame.

Myricks is the more recent. From Clinton and Mississippi College, Myricks, as Reese, was coached by Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame coach Joe Walker. He was a four-time national champion and four-time Olympian who persevered despite terrible Olympic luck. In 1976, at Montreal, Myricks suffered a broken foot in warm-ups that knocked him out of the Olympics. In his prime, in 1980, he was supposed to compete in the Moscow Olympics, but the U.S. boycotted the games. In 1984, at Los Angeles, he finished in fourth place, just inches away from a medal. Here’s perseverance: In 1988, at age 32, he won the bronze medal with a leap of 27 feet, one inch.

Boston, from Laurel, gained international acclaim in 1960 when he broke the long jump world record that had been held for 25 years by none other than the incomparable Jesse Owens. Boston has the complete Olympic collection of medals: gold (1960 at Rome), silver (1964 at Tokyo) and bronze (1968 at Mexico City).

Boston remains one of the great gentlemen in Mississippi sports history, which was evident back in 1968 at Mexico City when Boston won the bronze and Bob Beamon won the gold with a historic leap of  29 feet, 2.5 inches, breaking the world record by a seemingly impossible two feet. Boston didn’t tell me this story; Bob Beamon did, when he came through Jackson years ago and agreed to an interview.

“What people don’t know is that I wouldn’t have done that if it hadn’t been for Ralph Boston,” Beamon told me. “I fouled on my first two attempts and was about to get disqualified when Ralph told me I needed to adjust my footwork leading up to my takeoff. I figured I had better listen to the master, and I did. The rest, as they say, is history. I owe a lot to Ralph Boston.”

The next day, I called Boston and recounted Beamon’s telling. Boston corroborated the story and then laughed. “He beat me by two feet,” Boston said. “That’s a heck of a way to treat your teacher. If you see Bob again, tell him I am waiting for my check.”

Boston tells another of my favorite Mississippi sports stories, which brings us back to Willye B. White, who died far too young in 2007 at age 68. Boston knew White well. They competed for the U.S. in three straight Olympiads.

Once, when we were talking about White, Boston asked me: “Do you know there was someone in her high school class at Greenwood who became more famous than her?”

I did not.

“Ever hear of Morgan Freeman?” Boston said, chuckling.

Same school, same time?

“Yes,” Boston said. “I was with Morgan one time and I asked him if he ran track in high school. Morgan said he did not. He said he knew if he ran track, he would have had to run against Willye B. White. Morgan said he didn’t want to lose to a girl.”

The post Whether or not Reese wins gold, Mississippi’s long jump history is golden appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Given House Speaker Philip Gunn’s recent testing of the waters for a challenge of Gov. Tate Reeves, there was some anticipation their back-to-back Neshoba Fair stump speeches could serve as a soft launch of a Gunn gubernatorial campaign.

But if Thursday’s speech by Gunn was intended as any sort of a launch, it didn’t make it off the pad.

And except for a couple of mild jabs at each other, the two state leaders mostly threw out the same red meat for the GOP base and mostly espoused similar policies. In case you missed it, they both really, really, really oppose critical race theory being taught in Mississippi schools and vow to prohibit it. They both detest any liberal, socialistic, Democratic federal overreach coming from Washington, D.C., and they both want to eliminate the state’s individual income tax — although their plans do differ.

If Gunn plans to put any significant daylight between himself and Reeves on policy or politics, he didn’t do it at the fair on Thursday. One would doubt that “vote for me just because I’m not Tate Reeves” would be a way to entice much of the GOP base to jump ship from a well-financed Republican incumbent in 2023.

The only major policy difference between the two evident at Neshoba is that Gunn wants to eliminate the individual income tax by swapping it with increased sales and other taxes. Reeves wants to just eliminate the income tax period, and let the loose end drag.

Gunn is reportedly still undecided about a run. His speech would indicate he’s keeping his powder dry — although there’s a fine line between keeping your powder dry and giving a pretty blah stump speech at the fair.

Much of the speaker’s presentation sounded like a 1950s civics book warning of the evils of socialism and “how it continues to creep its way into this country.” He also reminded fairgoers that he warned them a couple of years ago about Democratic U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, and now “she’s become a national figure … known as AOC.”

He also doubled, or maybe tripled, down on his opposition to Medicaid expansion in Mississippi — a policy he also shares with Reeves.

READ MORE: Will Gunn run? Speaker signaling 2023 challenge of Gov. Tate Reeves

Gunn in his speech gave relatively scant attention to his income tax-sales tax proposal, despite having been touring the state pitching it (with limited success) for months and having called it the most important proposal of his legislative career.

Gunn’s only — subtle — jab at Reeves was over the federally funded $300-a-week pandemic unemployment stipend that Reeves recently halted for Mississippians.

Gunn took credit for halting it.

Gunn said, “The government needs to stop subsidizing people to stay home and not work. That’s why we called on the governor to stop the excess payments. In response to our appeal, he did so.” He was referring to a letter Gunn sent Reeves in May calling for an end to the payments that about 87,000 unemployed Mississippians were receiving. Reeves promptly initiated a halt to the payments, but never acknowledged he did so at Gunn’s request.

In his speech, Reeves’ main jab at Gunn was on the income tax-sales tax swap, and he wasn’t very subtle.

“There are some folks at the Capitol that are proposing we swap the income tax for an increase in sales taxes … or agriculture taxes, or increases in other taxes,” Reeves said. “I want to be clear, I am opposed to taking less here and more here. I am opposed to robbing Peter to pay Paul … What we need is a lower tax burden, period.

“And I will insist on it, no matter who in the Legislature stands in the way.”

Reeves has not been known as a fiery orator. In fact, in years past in his long political career, his speeches have been noted for their cringe-worthiness and stilted delivery. No one’s every mistaken him for Daniel Webster or even former Gov. William Winter.

But he’s gotten better, and while his keynote address Thursday didn’t shuck the corn or rattle the roof on the Founder’s Square pavilion, it was the highlight of the fair, complete with breaking a little news: that he plans to push for a large teacher pay raise next year.

READ MORE: Reeves promises teacher pay raises in Neshoba stump speech

Reeves bashed the media, pandemic health experts, and masking recommendations, and praised his administration’s work in education, economics, supporting law enforcement and fending off liberalism despite unprecedented natural disasters and COVID-19. He appeared to be at ease in pandering to his base and not too concerned about any challenge from Gunn or elsewhere.

Reeves, who in the past has struggled to even get an awkward chuckle out of a crowd, even managed to land a few jokes including one about “if the radical Democrats had their way, they’d have law enforcement policing the streets with squirt guns — but given their Second Amendment stance, they may ban those, too.”

The post If Gunn is going to challenge Reeves for governor, it didn’t show at Neshoba appeared first on Mississippi Today.