Mississippi has once again added more cases in one day than any other in the pandemic, now leading the world in rampant transmission of the virus. In response, the University of Mississippi Medical Center has moved up its timeline to ensure its entire workforce is vaccinated.
Hours after the worst report of new COVID-19 cases in the pandemic thus far, Gov. Tate Reeves gave Mississippi a full-throated endorsement of vaccinations—but offered inconsistent and hostile messaging on the subject of masks.
The City of Oxford’s Board of Aldermen voted at an emergency meeting this afternoon to mandate that masks must be worn inside all city buildings. “Our hospital is completely full; our ICU is completely full,” Oxford Mayor Robyn Tannehill said.
With COVID-19 patients overflowing at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, including in its pediatric center, hospital leaders are warning that the medical system statewide could be on the verge of failing without drastic intervention. Two days ago, Mississippi health officials announced that zero intensive-care beds remained available in hospitals statewide.
The Mississippi State Department of Health reported 427 new COVID-19 cases for July 7—the most for any one day since March 13. After a months-long plateau, novel coronavirus cases and hospitalizations are once again rising in the Magnolia State after the more contagious Delta variant became the state’s dominant strain last month.
As the Delta variant begins to race through the United States, the White House Coronavirus Task Force is warning that unvaccinated populations are especially at risk from the virulent new strain of COVID-19. That includes young adults who previously displayed a healthy resistance to the worst effects of the virus.
State health officials are warning of the growing Delta variant of COVID-19, a strain of the virus experts have identified as significantly more infectious and potentially more lethal than wild-type coronavirus.
The Rev. Edward S. Thomas, 47, of Clarksdale, Mississippi, a fifth-generation pastor, believes the events that took place on Capitol Hill will fuel vaccine hesitancy in the African American community. “Our history shows that we have been used as guinea pigs and lab rats, so there is a distrust there and rightfully so,” he says.
Cathryn Warren is a special-education teacher in Lamar County who specializes in behavior modification. She has been back in the classroom since August of last
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