Carroll is one of seven new counties that have been placed under the mask mandate by Governor Tate Reeves, bringing the total to sixteen.
During his Monday press conference, Reeves added Benton, Carroll, Harrison, Madison, Marshall, Jones, and Leake counties to the nine counties he placed under a mask mandate.
Carroll County joins Chickasaw, Claiborne, Desoto, Forrest, Itawamba, Jackson, Lamar, Lee, and Neshoba that were placed under a mask mandate last week. The order goes into effect immediately.
Carroll’s numbers increased after a COVID outbreak at the Carroll-Montgomery Regional Correctional Facility. In an earlier story, Carroll County Sheriff Clint Walker said the Mississippi Department of Corrections sent 56 inmates to the Carroll-Montgomery Regional Correctional Facility.
He said inmates began to show symptoms. He said 26 staff members and all of the inmates were tested. Walker said 113 inmates came back positive.
During the week of October 5 through October 18, Carroll saw 122 new cases. 113 of those cases came from the jail; the other nine cases came from within the county. The mask mandate is effective immediately. Those in Carroll County may not have inside groups of more than 10 and outside groups of more than 50.
However, as far as football is concerned with both Carroll Academy and J.Z. George, respectively in the MAIS and MSHAA playoffs, football crowds are still at 50 percent.
Reeves told Mississippians that this fight isn’t over, and he knows that Mississippians are tired of the fight, but the state is still in the middle of it. When asked about the upcoming election, he said that he feels people can and should get out and vote and safely.
“We need to find a way to deal with this that never returns to the economic lockdowns of the past. We need a sustainable plan,” Reeves said. “We believe that localized efforts to bring intense focus to those hardest-hit areas are going to have the greatest impact.”
Dr. Thomas Dobbs said children wanting to celebrate Halloween should wear some sort of face-covering, but parents should make sure they are breathable, not to double up masks. He also said that Thanksgiving should be held with the people in your home and not in large gatherings.
