Mississippi Governor Sets Statewide Face Mask Order

JACKSON, Miss. — Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said Tuesday that he’s setting a statewide order for people to wear masks in public amid a recent surge in confirmed coronavirus cases. The Republican also delayed the start of the school year for upper grades in eight counties that are hard-hit by COVID-19.

Reeves also said he will sign an order mandating that all adults and students wear masks in schools, unless there’s a medical reason that prevents them from doing so.

He is delaying the start of school for grades 7-12 in eight counties with more than 200 cases and 500 cases per 100,000 residents. The counties are Bolivar, Coahoma, Forrest, George, Hinds, Panola, Sunflower and Washington.

He had previously set a mask order in 38 of the 82 counties, saying he thinks a targeted order has been effective.

Reeves said most local school districts will keep control over when and how to open schools for the academic year.

Schools are dealing with the reopening in different ways. Some have already gone back to classroom teaching in recent days. Some are planning a mix of in-person and online classes. A few districts have said they will only have online classes for a while. And some are delaying the start of the school year by a few weeks, until early September.

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