Donal Washington

Donal Washington

After schools closed in early March 2020, Donal Washington, 16, looked forward to what he hoped would be a normal upcoming school year playing sports and socializing with peers.

But not long after the doors closed, he suffered a tremendous loss. In July, his mother died of pancreatic cancer, he said. About a month later his school, Leland High School announced it would reopen virtually due to a spike in COVID-19 cases. All sports were cancelled until further notice.

“That was kind of hard for me because we couldn’t really have a funeral for her. And it’s kind of hard navigating through school,” the 11th grader said. “This is like my first time without my mom being in the picture.”

Washington, an honors student coping with his mother’s death and little social interactions, felt unmotivated to do his work. He said he did not learn as much as he would in a traditional school setting. 

Isolated from immediate family, friends and teachers, Washington hoped school could bridge the social divide. Instead, the coronavirus pandemic amplified the problems, such as failing internet connection and assigned busy work. This meant he could not reach teachers for assistance on assignments, or stay connected during virtual classes.

“It’s harder doing virtual. When we have work to be done … there’s something wrong with the internet either at home or at the school. Sometimes we don’t get as much learning time,” Washington said. “In some of the classes we don’t have teachers. They just give us work.”

As a coping mechanism, he took comfort in learning new skills, picking up old hobbies, talking with siblings out of state and spending time with his father and stepmother.

With students around the state scheduled to return to school this month, Mississippi Today recently spoke with several high school students who shared similar stories of isolation, loss and resilience as they navigated through their first semester of school during a pandemic.

Washington, like other students living in rural parts of the state, experienced connectivity issues which are a hindrance to online learning.

Thousands of other students enrolled in virtual learning struggle to engage, connect and learn through online instruction although the Mississippi Department of Education worked last summer and fall to ensure all students had access to technology and devices. 

Harold Rhodes

Harold Rhodes

Harold Rhodes, a 12th grade star athlete at Jefferson Davis County High School, also faces this issue. He said he can’t complete school work sometimes because he lives in Bassfield, a rural area with strained service. He said he also feared the lack of exposure in sports because a limited football season could cost him a sports scholarship. 

“We used to travel around the state down here to get exposure and to get better. And I didn’t get to do much of that this summer because of COVID. So now I’m just playing sports down here at my school,” Rhodes, who plays tight end, said. In addition, Rhodes plays basketball, baseball and runs track.

Once the season began, Rhodes’ worries of being recruited calmed. College coaches still reach out, he said.

For Bethany Miller, a junior at Yazoo County High School, her responsibilities have doubled. She attended school on a hybrid model before her school building closed due to a COVID-19 outbreak. At home, she must complete her school assignments virtually and take care of her 5-year-old sister while her parents are working.

Bethany Allen

Bethany Miller

She said she feels alone and stressed at times because of her new responsibilities, and she can’t get immediate feedback with classwork or bond with classmates in or outside of school. 

“We have a schedule at school where we have to eat in our class, then it’s six feet a part at all times. That’s our lives,” Miller said before her district switched to virtual learning. “It takes a village because I know my mom wants to help out. She wants to be able to help my little sister and be there, but right now the thing is, it’s hectic.” 

Students who spoke with Mississippi Today said support from immediate family and the hope for a “normal” life helped them get through a difficult semester.

But the chances of a return to normal life are slim right now. COVID-19 infections continue to set new peaks statewide and nationally, and a vaccine likely won’t be widely available to the general public until later this year.

READ MORE: Here’s what we know about COVID-19 vaccines in Mississippi

Looking towards the future, students are hopeful. 

Washington wants to travel more.

Miller wants to spend time with her friends that are seniors.

Rhodes wants to “go back to our normal lives.”

The post How Mississippi students are coping during the pandemic appeared first on Mississippi Today.

• Lt. Governor Delbert Hosemann, who had a severe case of COVID-19, wants to delay the 2021 Legislative Session. Speaker Philip Gunn, who had a milder case, wants to go forward with the session.

The post Marshall Ramsey: The Rodeo Comes To Town appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today

Lois Moore, Mississippi State Department of Health immunization program community resource nurse, prepares to inject Mississippi Medical Association President Dr. W. Mark Horne with the Pfizer-BioNtech COVID-19 vaccination in December.

Mississippi will push up its distribution of COVID-19 vaccines to residents 75 and older to next week, health officials and Gov. Tate Reeves announced on Monday. The state will then begin distributing doses to those 65 and older the following week.

In its first phase of distribution, the state is currently administering doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to healthcare workers and long-term care residents. Originally, those 75 and older were scheduled to receive the vaccine in mid-January, and those 65 and older were scheduled for February.

TIMELINE: Here’s when you expect to receive a COVID-19 vaccine in Mississippi. 

The state health department is now operating 18 vaccination drive-thru locations across the state. Those eligible must make an appointment on the health department’s website — which also includes a full list of locations and schedules — or can call 877-978-6453 for more information.

Reeves also clarified the number of vaccines Mississippi has received and distributed. The state has so far distributed about 165,000 doses, and about 86,000 of those have gone towards the state’s enrolled providers. The remaining 78,000 are being distributed through a partnership between the federal government and pharmacies CVS and Walgreens to vaccinate long-term care residents.

Among those vaccines in the hands of the state’s providers, about 23,000, or roughly a quarter, had been administered as of last week, while only about 2% of doses provided through the pharmacies have been administered.

State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs added that about 20,000 doses will go out to private clinics this week to help expand distribution.

Meanwhile, the spread of the coronavirus continues to reach new highs in the state, and Dobbs said he expects that trend to continue as post-holiday cases begin to be reported to MSDH.

On New Year’s Eve, 357 patients were in intensive care units with COVID-19, a new record for the state. The seven-day average for hospitalizations continues to climb after reaching a new peak last month, and the seven-day average for new cases saw a new high of 2,239 on Sunday.

The post Older Mississippians will be eligible for COVID-19 vaccines next week appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today

Lois Moore, Mississippi State Department of Health immunization program community resource nurse, inoculates Dr. Timothy Quinn, CEO of Quinn Healthcare in Ridgeland, with the Pfizer-BioNtech covid vaccination in December 2020.

Mississippi is currently in its first phase of COVID-19 vaccine distribution, which targets healthcare personnel and residents and staff at long-term care facilities.

Health officials and Gov. Tate Reeves announced on Monday that people 75 and older may be eligible to receive the vaccine starting the week of Jan. 11.

The tiered phases of vaccine distribution in Mississippi were announced by the Mississippi State Department of Health on Monday. The chart below lists the phases and general timeline of when Mississippians may become eligible to receive the vaccine, though health officials warned that the exact timing of these phases depends on how many doses Mississippi receives from drug manufacturers.

READ MORE: Older Mississippians will be eligible for COVID-19 vaccines next week.

Appointments to receive the vaccine at the state’s 18 drive-thru clinics must be scheduled online, and both the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines which are being administered in Mississippi require two doses. The Moderna vaccine requires recipients to receive their second dose in 28 days, and the Pfizer vaccine requires recipients to return in 21 days, according to the Mississippi Department of Health.

Learn more about how to schedule your vaccine here, or call 877-978-6453.

The post Here’s when you can expect to receive a COVID-19 vaccine in Mississippi appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith arrives for the Senate Republican luncheon in Hart Building on Thursday, June 4, 2020. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP Images)

Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, Mississippi’s junior U.S. senator, remains mum on whether she plans to join at least 12 of her Republican colleagues in challenging the presidential victory of former Vice President Joe Biden.

Congress will meet in joint session on Wednesday to certify the electoral votes from the states. Biden, a Democrat, received 306 of the 538 elector votes from the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Though the certification of the electoral votes from the states is normally a formality, the law allows Congress to reject them and theoretically select the new president.

A group of House and Senate Republicans — ardent supporters of Republican President Donald Trump, who has for weeks pushed disproven theories about widespread election fraud — indicated last week they will challenge those electoral votes from certain states Biden won. To be successful, they must garner a majority vote in both chambers.

It does not appear the Republican objectors, based on national reports, have the votes in either chamber to be successful.

Hyde-Smith, who was sworn in on Sunday to a six-year term after winning re-election in November, did not answer questions from Mississippi Today about her position on the effort and has not publicly discussed how she may vote on Wednesday.

Sen. Roger Wicker, Mississippi’s senior U.S. senator, indicated after the states certified their electoral votes in early December that he would accept those results.

“The electoral college vote makes it clear that Joe Biden will be the next president of the United States. I am obviously disappointed in the outcome, and I know many Mississippians feel the same way. Nevertheless, we must respect the constitutional process and move on,” Wicker said at the time.

An aide said over the weekend that Wicker stands by those comments.

And after Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri became the first senator to announce an intent to challenge the results last week, Wicker told Politico: “I’m going to vote to certify the election. I don’t think it’s a good idea and I don’t understand (Hawley’s) reasoning.”

U.S. Rep. Steven Palazzo, who represents the 4th congressional district, is the only member of Mississippi’s congressional delegation to have announced his intent to challenge the results.

“I cannot vote to certify the results of an election in certain states that millions of Americans and I do not wholeheartedly trust,” Palazzo said in a statement.

He claimed that officials in many states won by Biden violated the Constitution by changing election procedures without those changes first being approved by their legislators. Judges, including those appointed by Trump, who lost the election by more than seven million votes, have rejected those arguments.

Mississippi’s two other Republican U.S. House members did not respond to recent requests for comment from Mississippi Today. But both Michael Guest of the 3rd congressional district and Trent Kelly of the 1st congressional district acknowledged after the certification of the electors in early December that Biden would be the next president.

“The electoral college has cast the final and deciding vote for Joe Biden. My prayers are with him as he prepares to assume the office of president of the United States,” Guest said in a statement.

READ MORE: Several Mississippi Republicans among those seeking to throw out millions of ballots.

Kelly told the Daily Journal in Tupelo: “It appears that Joe Biden is the president-elect. I have done exactly what I said I would do. I have supported President Trump and followed every possible legal remedy to ensure the election results are valid. At this time, there does not appear to be a viable and legal remedy left to pursue.

“Elections and the electoral college, as well as states’ right to certify the electorate, are an integral part of all our elections dating back to our founders,” Kelly continued. “Although I do not like the results of the current election, the courts and the states have spoken. Unless there is an unforeseen, valid legal challenge, I intend to support the results of the electoral college.”

Mississippi’s sole Democrat in the congressional delegation — Rep. Bennie Thompson of the 2nd district — questioned the process of some Republicans challenging the results.

“How can any member of Congress challenge the legitimacy of Trump’s defeat when they were elected from the SAME ballot?” Thompson said on social media.

Mississippi’s Republicans in the congressional delegation have been strong allies of Trump for most of his tenure. The Republican president campaigned extensively for Hyde-Smith when she won a special election in 2018 to replace longtime Sen. Thad Cochran, who stepped down for health reasons.

Many Republicans serving in state offices have also been supportive of Trump’s efforts to have the votes of tens of millions of voters thrown out and allow Republican state legislatures to appoint a different slate of electors loyal to Trump.

Those supporting those efforts have included Gov. Tate Reeves, Secretary of State Michael Watson and Attorney General Lynn Fitch. In addition, 30 state legislators have signed a letter asking for an investigation into allegations of fraud made by Trump.

READ MORE: Mississippi electors vote Trump, top officials cast doubt about election results in other states.

In addition to multiple judges rejecting the allegations of fraud, former Attorney General William Barr, another Trump appointee, who early on asked his Justice Department to look for fraud, has said fraud did not occur on a large enough scale to impact Biden’s sizable victory. Soon after making that statement, Barr stepped down from his post as head of the federal law enforcement apparatus.

Trump recently was recorded during an hourlong conversation trying to pressure the Georgia secretary of state to arbitrarily award him additional votes.

The post Will Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith join futile effort to overturn Biden victory? appeared first on Mississippi Today.

COVID-19 cases: Mississippi reports 1,616 new cases

By Mississippi Today | January 4, 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 Monday, January 4:

New cases: 1,616 | New Deaths: 13

Total Hospitalizations: 1,456

Total cases:223,667| Total Deaths: 4,884

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 1,616 new cases appeared first on Mississippi Today.

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.

The post Court keeping lawmakers from suing the governor could have ‘real world’ problems appeared first on Mississippi Today.