LeAnna Lehnert, a third grade teacher at Corinth Elementary School, has her students stay on the dots for social distancing, as they line up for the restroom on the first day back to school Monday, July 27, 2020 in Corinth, Miss. (Adam Robison/The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal via AP)
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Gov. Tate Reeves said he has now read the plans of all Mississippi school districts as they prepare for a new academic year amid the growing coronavirus pandemic. And he’s ready to announce Tuesday afternoon whether he’ll issue executive orders that could affect those plans.
Schools are dealing with the dilemma in different ways. Some have already gone back to classroom teaching in recent days. Some are planning a mix of in-person and online classes. A few districts have said they will only have online classes for a while. And some are delaying the start of the school year by a few weeks, until early September.
“I’ve said it before and I will say it again: we cannot ignore the severe damage that extended school closures do to kids,” the Republican governor tweeted on Monday night, without revealing his response. “I know that these days the public conversation favors noise over nuance — but this is nuanced.”
The Mississippi chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics said in a statement that it wants school openings in the state to be delayed until at least September, to see if coronavirus caseloads are clearly declining by then.
Mississippi’s State Health Officer, Dr. Thomas Dobbs, issued a statewide order Tuesday requiring people who have tested positive for coronavirus to isolate at home for at least 14 days. Those who fail to comply could face six months to five years in prison and a fine between $500 and $5,000, according to the state health department.
The Health Department said Tuesday that Mississippi, which has a population of about 3 million, has had at least 62,199 reported cases and at least 1,753 deaths from COVID-19 as of Monday evening. That’s an increase of 1,074 confirmed cases and 42 deaths from numbers reported the day before.
The true number of virus infections is thought to be far higher because many people have not been tested and studies suggest people can be infected without feeling sick. For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms. For some, especially older adults and those with existing health problems, it can cause more severe or fatal illness.
Also on Tuesday, Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba issued an order limiting service at bars and nightclubs for one week to try to mitigate the spread COVID-19. Alcohol may not be sold at a bartop, but drinks may be served to people seated at tables.
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Leah Willingham is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
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Follow AP coverage of the pandemic at https://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak.
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