Governor hires 1,000 healthcare workers
Mississippi is deploying more than 1,000 healthcare workers within the next six days to 61 hospitals throughout the state that requested extra staffing, Gov. Tate Reeves said Tuesday.
The news comes after statewide COVID-19 new cases have surged in recent weeks due to the delta variant of the virus, overcrowding hospitals and stretching the limits of existing staff at critical care hospitals throughout the state.
Madison County has recorded 458 new COVID-19 cases and four new deaths in the past week, according to the Mississippi State Department of Health’s Aug. 25 report.
Madison County has now recorded a total of 12,793 cases of COVID-19 and 245 deaths since the pandemic began in March 2020. Last week, there were 454 new weekly cases.
During the Tuesday press conference, Reeves said the state will deploy 808 nurses, three certified and registered nurse anesthetists, 22 nurse practitioners, 193 respiratory therapists and 20 paramedics to the state’s 61 hospitals that requested them after the state received approval on Aug. 13.
“These are the number of healthcare personnel beginning to deploy this morning to 50 hospitals across the state to meet the staffing shortages in our hospitals,” Reeves said Tuesday. “This medical staffing was secured through utilization and awarding of four of the original 19 bids that MEMA received on Aug. 13.”
The cost of the staffing will be $10 million per week for eight weeks.
“Medical staffing provided by the state is for the COVID-19 mission to address the surge of patients due to the Delta Variant. Our staff has worked tirelessly to give our hospitals the relief they need and deserve. We are working with FEMA to secure reimbursement for these contracts worth roughly $10 million a week statewide for eight and a half weeks. MEMA stands ready to coordinate any additional resources needed,” said MEMA Executive Director Stephen McCraney.
MEMA is requesting an expedited federal reimbursement from FEMA to cover the costs of medical staffing contracts.
Meanwhile, last week the Mississippi State Department of Health re-issued a 2020 home-isolation order for people who are diagnosed with COVID-19.
“All persons, including fully vaccinated individuals, infected with COVID-19 must remain in the home or other appropriate residential location for 10 days from onset of illness (or 10 days from the date of a positive test for those who are asymptomatic),” states the isolation order issued by Dr. Thomas Dobbs, Mississippi’s top health official and executive director of the MSDH.
A negative test for COVID-19 is not required to end isolation at the end of 10 days.
“You must be fever-free for at least 24 hours with improvement of other symptoms,” the order states.
Mississippi K-12 schools are required to exclude all students and faculty diagnosed with COVID-19 from the school setting during the isolation period under the order.
“The failure or refusal to obey the lawful order of a health officer is, at a minimum, a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of $500 or imprisonment for six months or both,” the order states. “If a life-threatening disease is involved, failure or refusal to obey the lawful order of a health officer is a felony, punishable by a fine of up to $5,000 or imprisonment for up to five years or both.”
People who are infected with COVID-19 should limit exposure to household contacts and no visitors should be allowed in the home, the order states.
“Please stay in a specific room away from others in your home,” the order states. “Use a separate bathroom if available. If you need to be around others in your home, you should wear a face mask.”
Madison County continues to have one of the state’s highest vaccination rates with 50% of residents having received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine and 58% of residents having received at least one dose, as of the Aug. 24 MSDH report. Jefferson County also has a 50% two-dose vaccination rate.
The statewide vaccination rate stands at 35% of residents having received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine and 43% of residents having received one dose.
Vaccinations are available at Krogers, Walmarts, Walgreens, CVS’s and other locations throughout Madison County and are available to residents 12 years old and older.
Statewide, since the pandemic began in March 2020, 248,795 confirmed COVID-19 cases have been recorded by the MSDH along with 171,379 probable cases, totaling 420,174 cases. There have been 5,594 confirmed COVID-19 deaths, along with 2,586 probable deaths, totaling 8,180 deaths.