Canton Flea Market on after veto override

CANTON — Aldermen held a special-called meeting Monday afternoon to override Mayor William Truly’s veto cancelling this year’s Fall Flea Market scheduled for Oct. 8.

Two weeks ago, Canton aldermen voted 6-1 to host the annual event that brings thousands of artisans and shoppers to the city twice a year. The May Flea Market was canceled due to COVID-19.

Last Wednesday, Truly vetoed that approval by aldermen, citing public health concerns amid COVID-19.

However, on Monday, aldermen in a 5-0 vote overrode Truly’s veto. The aldermen were: Eric Gilkey, Les Penn, Fred Esco, Timothy Taylor and Lafayette Wales.

This week, the U.S. Surgeon General said the U.S. was “over the hump” with regard to COVID-19 as Mississippi cases and hospitalizations continue to trend downward.

There have been 31 positive cases of COVID-19 among students throughout Madison County and another 14 faculty and staff impacted, according to data from the State Department of Health. The state also reports two outbreaks at schools in the county, though they don’t say where.

The data were updated Tuesday, Sept. 15 and specific schools are not named.

Last week, the county had 20 cases among students and five among teachers and staff.

According to MSDH, a total of 143 students in Madison County had been quarantined due to exposure during the week of Sept. 7-11. Another 17 faculty and staff were quarantined.

The state does not report which specific school districts are impacted and by how much.

On Wednesday, the state reported 711 new cases and 22 new deaths.

Mississippi had its highest daily case numbers peak over 1,600 near the end of July.

In Madison County, 88 cases have been identified in the last week, bringing the total here to 3,164.

In total, 91,234 Mississippians have either been confirmed or presumed to have COVID-19, with 2,756 total deaths.

As of Wednesday, the state reported 85 COVID-related deaths in Madison County, an increase of two from last week. There have been 238 cases in long-term care facilities and 45 deaths.

The MSDH is reporting statewide that hospitalizations have declined from 525 to 518 since last week, with ICU patients down from 185 to 168. Ventilator usage dropped from 111 to 98.