Reeves finally orders statewide Shelter-in-Place for MS

Late Wednesday afternoon, April 1, Governor Tate Reeves finally signed a new executive order establishing a statewide shelter-in-place for Mississippi.

For weeks Reeves has claimed such strong action was not warranted. He had issued several statements that were contradictory and non-specific, saying one thing one day and something very different the next day.

During the last few days Reeves received strong pressure from within his own party and from the state’s top physicians to take more meaningful action.

Several Republican members of the legislature signed letters to Reeves earlier this week asking him to take strong action to protect Mississippians from the coronavirus.

Wednesday morning, several hours before the ‘shelter in place’ order finally came down late Wednesday afternoon, Dr. LouAnn Woodward, the vice chancellor of the University of Mississippi Medical center, emailed Reeves a grim plea to order shelter in place.

Dr. Woodward’s email said, “The reality is we are facing an uphill battle as a state. As the CEO of the organization that will bear the brunt of the fallout, I need to speak my mind.

“Without a statewide ‘shelter in place’ starting very soon (which is proving effective elsewhere), our health system will be overwhelmed. The immediate time frame (right now) is our last inflection point in controlling COVID-19 spread in our state.

“In my opinion (a shelter in place order) is the only additional thing we can do right now to decrease the force of the impact. Any and every ventilator and ICU bed we can spare will matter. I couldn’t let another day pass without sharing my perspective. We are worried.”

The Mississippi Department of Health had determined that Mississippi has reached a critical point in the cycle of the outbreak.

The shelter-in-place will begin this Friday, April 3, 2020 at 5:00 PM and be in effect until Monday, April 20, 2020 at 8:00 AM.

Here are some of Reeves’s remarks from today’s press conference:

“This is a somber time—for our country and our state. We are all in grave danger, from coast to coast. As leaders, our top priority is and always will be the safety of our citizens.

“We are announcing a shelter-in-place order. It will go into effect on Friday at 5:00 PM.

“We know that there are some who still do not have a healthy fear of this virus. They are wrong, and they are risking lives if they do not take this seriously.

“This order will be enforced. It will be taken very, very seriously. It will not be forever. We will get through this and open our state back up as soon as our health experts tell me it is wise.”

The guidelines of the order include:

Individuals are to stay at home except for the limited allowances in the executive order.
When outside of their homes, people must follow social distancing guidelines by maintaining a 6-foot distance from others and avoid groups of 10 or more.

Evictions are suspended, though people are still required to pay any rent or make any mortgage payments.

All nonessential businesses are to stop all activities other than those necessary for minimum operations (e.g. payroll, health insurance, security) and enabling employees to work from home.

Social and other non-essential gatherings in groups of more than 10 people must be cancelled or rescheduled.

Restaurants and bars may only remain open for drive-thru, curbside, and/or delivery service.
People may leave their homes only to perform essential activities, such as caring for someone in the vulnerable population, getting food or necessary supplies, and working for an essential business.
Individual outdoor recreation is encouraged, but not group recreation or team such as soccer or basketball games.

How this order actually came about: https://mississippitoday.org/2020/04/01/reeves-finalizing-plans-for-statewide-shelter-in-place-order-after-grim-plea-from-a-top-doctor/

MS executive order 1466 shelter in place