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Eric J. Shelton/Mississippi Today, Report For America

Gov. Tate Reeves and Mississippi State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs speak to the media about the coronavirus during a press conference at the Governor’s Mansion in Jackson on March 26, 2020.

Two days after announcing his daughter tested positive for COVID-19 and postponing a press conference, Gov. Tate Reeves went live on Facebook Thursday to share his thoughts on the rising COVID-19 case numbers in Mississippi.

As of Thursday, the seven-day average for new COVID-19 cases in Mississippi reached 968, a 23% increase in the last two weeks. On Wednesday, the average surpassed 1,000 for the first time since Aug. 5.

In a virtual town hall on Thursday, State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs warned that the state’s hospital system is under “extreme stress.”

Intensive Care Units are 88% full statewide, and seven of the highest level COVID-care centers have zero beds: Baptist Memorial Hospital in Southaven, Delta Regional Medical Center in Greenville, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Baptist Medical Center, St. Dominic, and Merit Health Central in Jackson, and Merit Health Wesley in Hattiesburg.

In the last two weeks, total hospitalizations are up 6%, patients in the ICU are up 15%, and patients on ventilators are up 23%.

“Our fall surge is going in very much the wrong direction over the last week or so,” Dobbs said on Thursday. “We’re seeing near record high case numbers, and the consistency is pretty astounding.”

Meanwhile, Reeves, who is currently quarantining because of possible exposure by his daughter, focused time during his Thursday social media appearance on presidential politics.

After an adviser to President-Elect Joe Biden mentioned the idea of a six-week lockdown, Reeves called the proposal “totally and completely beyond reasonableness.”

“What I would tell you is, even based upon some of the things I’ve heard from his campaign, I don’t think much of anything’s going to change with respect to the virus,” Reeves said. “The fact is, we’re going to try to work with whomever the president is, but we’re not going to participate in a nationwide lockdown.

“While I don’t believe that there’s any constitutional or statutory authority for any president to shut down Mississippi’s economy, we will certainly fight that if it becomes necessary.”

The governor also addressed questions around the criteria for county mask mandates. Currently, the following 15 counties are under mask mandates: Benton, Carroll, Covington, DeSoto, Forrest, Harrison, Humphreys, Jackson, Lamar, Lauderdale, Leflore, Lee, Marshall, Rankin and Yalobusha.

Reeves said the criteria for issuing county mask mandates has not changed since his office began issuing them.

Previously, he had said counties would be under a mask mandate if they either: had over 200 total cases in the last two weeks, or if they had over 500 cases per 100,000 people in the last two weeks.

“There is no fudging of the data, there is no fudging of the numbers,” he said. “It is what it is.”

However, the counties in the chart below meet the second criteria but aren’t under a mask mandate:

Erica Hensley contributed to this report. 

The post With Mississippi hospitals under ‘extreme stress,’ Gov. Tate Reeves rejects idea of lockdown appeared first on Mississippi Today.

READ: Gov. Reeves gave to Justice Coleman’s campaign. Now Coleman is hearing a case against Reeves.

The post Marshall Ramsey: Chop Chop appeared first on Mississippi Today.

There’s a clear winner in the 2020 Mississippi high school football championship playoffs: COVID-19.

So far this week, six teams have forfeited Friday night playoff games due to coronavirus outbreaks, thus ending their seasons.

Rick Cleveland

Michael Fair holds the State Championship trophy during post-game interview in 2016. There will be no state championship for Fair or Lafayette in 2020. COVID-19 saw to that.

“It’s not supposed to be this way,” said Lafayette County coach Michael Fair, whose team was set to play Neshoba Central in a Class 5A playoff game on Friday night. “In football, your season is supposed to end on the field.”

Instead, Fair informed his team that their season had ended as the team gathered for a practice on Tuesday afternoon. The MHSAA follows Mississippi State Department of Health guidelines that deem three or more positive COVID-19 tests an outbreak requiring quarantining for 14 days. Fair had one player test positive on Saturday, another on Monday and a third on Tuesday. And that was that.

“One of the hardest things I’ve ever done,” said Fair, the former Mississippi State offensive line standout. “There were lots of tears. I feel for my seniors, some of whom have played their last games. But I feel for all our players. I mean, you work so hard for so long for something and then it ends like this.”

Lafayette County’s season had begun under tragic circumstances. Longtime Lafayette assistant coach Nacoma James, the team’s special teams coordinator, died of COVID-19 on Aug. 6. He was 42.

“Coach James was beloved by our players,” Fair said. “He wore a bow tie to school ever Wednesday, so we put a bow tie decal on our helmets this season to honor him. He was a real inspiration to our kids. You know, football teams are like a family and we lost a loved one. That made us that much closer, and it makes it that much harder for it to end the way it ended.”

Lafayette County is by no means the only high school team grieving this week. The scene was much the same at other schools across the state. In Class 1A, McAdams, near Kosiusko in Attala County, forfeited its game with Lumberton. In Class 4A, three of eight playoffs games scheduled have been cancelled due to COVID-19. McComb forfeited to Mendenhall. Lawrence County forfeited to Sumrall. Clarksdale forfeited to Itawamba Agricultural. Another 5A playoff game was cancelled when Brookhaven was forced to forfeit to Pascagoula.

All this was as of Wednesday afternoon. More could follow before scheduled kickoffs on Friday night.

Last week, Puckett forfeited to Bogue Chitto in 2A, and Shannon forfeited to West Lauderdale in 4A.

Not coincidentally, pandemic numbers have soared in Mississippi recently. The state’s average number of daily COVID-19 cases surpassed 900 for the first time in three months. On Tuesday, 1,256 new cases and 17 deaths were reported.

The MHSAA reported just over 100 games forfeited during the 10-game regular season. Nearly two dozen teams, including all Jackson Public Schools teams, opted not to play football this season. Many teams’ seasons were ravaged before the regular season ended and the playoffs began. Take 6A powerhouse Starkville, for example. Coach Chris Jones’ Yellowjackets appeared the best team in the state for much of the season. They were 5-0 and ranked No. 1 in the state before COVID-19 struck.

Because of COVID, Starkville didn’t play a game for 21 days and didn’t so much as practice for two full weeks. When the Yellowjackets finally returned to the field, they lost three straight games, finished with a 5-3 record (including one forfeited loss) and out of the playoffs.

“I know it’s been a tough year for everybody, and some of it is things you don’t even think about,” Jones said. “Because of COVID, we didn’t have the summer work you usually get. Our conditioning wasn’t what it should have been, and I’ve heard a lot of coaches say the same. Injuries rocked us about as much as COVID. And then when it hit us in October, we had to quarantine and we couldn’t even practice. Then, you come back and it’s like starting over and you have to play a team like Clinton, which was really hot at the time. Nobody wants to make excuses, but it is what it is. We weren’t ready.”

Jones was the first person to reach out to Lafayette County’s Fair when he heard the news about Lafayette having to forfeit Friday night’s playoff game.

“I know how it feels when it’s out of your hands,” Jones said. “It’s just sad.”

Mississippi’s public schools teams still playing are shooting for championship weekend to be held at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium in Jackson on Dec. 4-5.

The post The undisputed winner thus far in Mississippi high school football playoffs: COVID-19 appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Josiah Coleman, who received $5,000 in campaign contributions from Gov. Tate Reeves’ political action committee earlier this year, apparently will participate in ruling on whether recent partial vetoes issued by the governor are constitutional.

Coleman was among the eight justices hearing oral arguments on Tuesday in a lawsuit brought by House Speaker Philip Gunn and House Pro Tem Jason White that challenges the constitutionality of Reeves’ partial veto this summer of money going to health care providers to combat COVID-19.

During the more than 60 minutes of oral arguments in the case, Coleman, who won reelection to his Northern District seat last week, asked questions that appeared favorable to Reeves.

When asked to comment on Coleman’s participation in the case, Supreme Court spokesperson Beverly Kraft said the justice declined to comment, adding: “It would be inappropriate to comment on a pending case.”

Reeves also offered no comment.

A few days before the election, though, the Republican governor had plenty to say about Coleman, and it was all positive. On social media a few days before the election, Reeves endorsed Coleman’s candidacy.

“Josiah Coleman is the true conservative running in north Mississippi,” Reeves tweeted on Oct. 26, eight days before the election. “Please don’t let liberals sneak one of their judges in here. Vote for Josiah Coleman.”

When Reeves was asked during an October news conference whether he supported a proposal on the November ballot that would remove language from the state’s 1890 Constitution designed to keep African Americans from holding political office, the governor urged support for Coleman’s reelection effort instead of answering that question.

“I hope all of my friends in north Mississippi will go to the polls and elect Justice Coleman,” Reeves said.

Documents filed with the Secretary of State’s office also revealed that the governor’s Tate PAC donated $5,000 to his campaign on Sept. 14.

The Code of Judicial Conduct says “judges should disqualify themselves in proceedings in which their impartiality might be questioned by a reasonable person knowing all the circumstances or for other grounds provided in the Code of Judicial Conduct.”

The Code of Judicial Conduct says a party to a lawsuit could seek a judge’s recusal or removal based on the fact the opposing party is a major campaign donor to the judge.

It should be pointed out that Coleman was not asked to step down by the House leadership, and in theory judicial candidates are not supposed to know who contributes to their campaigns. Contributions are supposed to go to a campaign committee overseen by a treasurer.

Coleman won his Nov. 3 reelection to a new eight-year term on the Supreme Court, defeating DeSoto County Chancellor Percy Lynchard Jr.

Central District Justice Kenny Griffis also faced an election challenge. While Griffis is leading in the race against Court of Appeals Judge Latrice Westbrooks, that race has not been officially called. Griffis, whose election effort Reeves did not comment on, was not present for oral arguments in the case, though that fact does not necessarily mean he will not participate in the final ruling.

The post Gov. Reeves gave to Justice Coleman’s campaign. Now Coleman is hearing a case against Reeves. appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Last year’s Veterans Day cartoon. But the sentiment is still the same. Thank you to all the men and women who have served our nation.

The post Marshall Ramsey: Veterans Day appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Gov. Tate Reeves on Wednesday, under COVID-19 quarantine with his family after a daughter tested positive, extended a mask mandate for 15 counties and other orders through Dec. 11.

The counties under a mask-wearing mandate because of high numbers COVID-19 cases are: Benton, Carroll, Covington, DeSoto, Forrest, Harrison, Humphreys, Jackson, Lamar, Lauderdale, Leflore, Lee, Marshall, Rankin, and Yalobusha.

“I know that we are all tired and ready to move on,” Reeves said in a statement. “But the virus is still here. It’s still working to infect and kill. We’ve gotten far better at dealing with it, and allowing for life to go on. But we’re not all the way there yet.”

Jones and Neshoba counties had been in his previous mask mandate, set in late October and expiring Wednesday, but were not included in his new list. Rankin County was added to the new mask mandate list.

Reeves on Tuesday announced on social media that the youngest of his three daughters had tested positive for COVID-19. He said his family would all be tested and isolating.

Later he tweeted:  “Quick update: Elee and our other girls tested negative again. So did I. Since Maddie also had a negative test as recently as yesterday we’re going to monitor closely and be cautious. I’ve heard and felt the outpouring of prayers, and they mean the world to Maddie and all of us!”

READ MORE: Gov. Tate Reeves’ daughter tests positive for COVID-19.

Reeves urged Mississippians to social distance and wear masks.

Reeves on Sept. 30 lifted a statewide mask mandate — making Mississippi the first state to rescind such a mandate — that he had issued on Aug. 4, and he relaxed restrictions on social gatherings. Since then, cases have risen.

During the span of the statewide mask mandate, Mississippi cases plummeted, dropping by 54%.

Reeves had been hesitant to issue a statewide mask order in the summer, instead taking a county-by-county approach until state hospitals were becoming overloaded. He has said that a county-by-county approach to mask mandates and other restrictions as cases spike is better because people are more likely to pay attention and heed the orders.

This week, Mississippi’s average number of daily COVID-19 cases surpassed 900 for the first time in three months and has continued to climb.

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Color your way through Mississippi with me! Click below to download a coloring sheet of The Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Experience (The MAX) in Meridian.

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The post A tour of Mississippi: The Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Experience (The MAX) appeared first on Mississippi Today.

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New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (9) looks to pass as Tampa Bay Buccaneers outside linebacker Shaquil Barrett (58) works against offensive tackle Ryan Ramczyk (71) during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 8, 2020, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)

It was late Sunday night and on the New Orleans Saints post-game radio show Deuce McAllister was searching for the right word to describe what had happened in the showdown between the Saints and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Tampa.

So McAllister reached into his trove of what he calls his “Mississippi twang” for this description: “The Saints thonked ’em.”

Rick Cleveland

You ask me, that’s some genuine rural Scott County onomatopoeia right there and it fits. The Saints’ 38-3 thrashing over the previously 6-2 Bucs was a “thonking” of the first order. The victory moves the 6-2 Saints a half game ahead of Tampa Bay in the NFC South. Two of the three Bucs defeats have been to the Saints, New Orleans now would hold the playoffs tiebreaker if the two teams wind up tied in the standings. And since the Atlanta Falcons and Carolina Panthers, the other two NFC South members are sitting at 3-6, the Saints are sitting pretty.

Understand, the Saints were 4.5-point underdogs, were playing on the road and were facing Tom Brady, the most accomplished quarterback in NFL history. Brady? The Saints thonked him too, sacking him three times and swarming him many others. The Saints picked him off three times and made him look, perhaps for the first time, like the 43-year-old he is. It was the worst defeat of Brady’s Hall of Fame career.

Just goes to show that even the winning-est quarterback in league history is lost without pass protection and a running game. The Bucs had neither. Here, perhaps, is the stat of this football season: The Bucs ran the ball five times for eight yards. That’s right: five rushes in four quarters.

Deuce McAllister

Said McAllister, nearly as good as an analyst as he was as an All Pro running back: “Five runs the entire game? That’s crazy. If I were the offensive coordinator, I couldn’t face my running back after a game like that.”

McAllister, who often ran the ball five times per possession as one of the Saints all-time greats, makes a really good point. When the Saints figured out the Bucs couldn’t – or wouldn’t – run it, the defensive line began racing one another to get to Brady.

But perhaps the biggest takeaway from Sunday night’s game was this: The Saints, for the first time all season, looked like a Super Bowl contender. They looked like a team that could win it all. This was their fifth straight victory but the first of those five that was by more than six points. The three others were all by three points and two of those were in overtime.

Before, the Saints were scraping by, doing just enough to win. This time, they put it all together: offense, defense and special teams.

Drew Brees, with all his receivers back from injuries and COVID, looked like the old Drew Brees and took back the NFL career lead for touchdown passes from Brady. (Brees now has 564, Brady 561.) That’s 1,125 combined touchdown passes. Let’s pause for a moment and let those numbers sink in.

Demario Davis, the Saints’ ball-hawking linebacker from Brandon, obviously did.

“You’re talking about two of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game going head to head,” Davis said, post-game. “I just don’t want to move past this moment, because this is history. The fact that all of us get to be part of this, it’s just an amazing experience.”

Brady would probably have another description.

Rogelio V. Solis / Associated Press

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees’ right shoulder was often iced down at hot, humid Millsaps in 2006.

Brees did have a running game to keep the Bucs defense honest, and when the Saints threw it, he often had time to comb his thinning hair before picking out an open receiver. He looked just about as sharp as he has since he resurrected his career back at Millsaps College 14 years ago. Amazingly, he spread his 29 pass completions around to a dozen different receivers.

The Saints called on punter Thomas Morstead only once. So complete was this Saints victory, Morstead responded with a booming, sky-high 51-yarder.

Yes, it was a thonking. And Bruce Arians, the Bucs venerable head coach whose first full-time job was at Mississippi State way back in 1978, had a description that was every bit as fitting as McAllister’s.

Said Arians: “It was shocking… they kicked our ass in every phase.”

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