In his annual State of the State address Tuesday, Gov. Tate Reeves memorialized a long, cruel 2020 from the steps of the Mississippi Capitol. Behind the governor lay nearly a year of an uncontained pandemic and a hospital system just beginning to contain the crush of the virus’ worst wave. Still, Reeves struck an undeniably triumphant note with his address.
More Mississippians signed up for health insurance through the federal insurance exchange in 2020 than any year prior. This year’s enrollment grew 12% over the 98,892 who signed up for 2020 health insurance—and nearly doubled sign-ups from the exchange’s early days’ enrollment in 2013. Mississippi had the fourth-largest enrollment increases over last year, with about 400 more enrollees per 100,000 residents.
Beleaguered hospitals through the Magnolia State have begun taking extreme measures to stay afloat amid a mounting deluge of COVID-19 patients.
The Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting conducted data analysis showing that coronavirus deaths are twice as high per capita in Mississippi’s poorest counties. The death rate rose to 3.3 times higher when compared with counties where the per-capita income was at least $25,000.
Mississippi public schools have confirmed 199 cases among students and 245 among teachers, Dobbs said, and school districts have ordered 2,035 students and 589 teachers to quarantine at home for two weeks after possible exposure to COVID-19. Schools in 71 of Mississippi’s 82 counties have reported cases, the state health officer said.
Much of the news coverage of COVID-19 has been about major cities such as New York, Chicago and Los Angeles. But as the nation struggles
U.S. House Rep. Bennie Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat, hopes Congress will pass “a bailout for everyday Americans instead of corporations” when Republicans and Democrats finally agree on an economic-stimulus compromise bill, his office told the Mississippi Free Press Tuesday evening.
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