COVID testing line set up here
Neshoba General has established a new call line for drive-thru COVID-19 testing appointments as requests nearly doubled early this week.
Neshoba County reported 169 new COVID-19 cases and one new death over the past week, according to the Mississippi Department of Health’s Tuesday report.
Call (601) 663-1221 to schedule a drive-thru testing appointment on the Neshoba General campus.
Be sure to have your insurance information handy to pre-register and receive your appointment for the drive-thru testing site, officials said.
Neshoba General posted these statistics on Sunday, Aug. 8
Philadelphia Mayor James A. Young said he has not instituted a citywide mask mandate but has ordered one at City Hall because of City Court.
The city and county schools as of press time Tuesday had not issued mask mandates for the start of school later this week.
Choctaw Tribal schools have a mask mandate on buses and in facilities.
Neshoba General and Choctaw Health Center are making extra efforts to keep the community safe with a one-day vaccine drive today (Aug. 4) at the Neshoba County Coliseum from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Neshoba General Marketing and PR Director Anette Watkins said hospital staff will be administering the Pfizer vaccine and it is available to everyone 12 years of age and older.
The second shot will be available at the same location on Aug. 25.
Neshoba County’s total COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began in March 2020 is now at 4,401.
The one new death brings the county’s death toll to 181. Of those deaths, 114 are from the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, according to MSDH.
The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians has reported 66 new positive cases of COVID-19 and no new deaths according to the latest report posted on Aug. 1, with the total number of positive cases for the Tribe standing at 1,935 with 114 deaths since the pandemic began in March 2020.
As of Tuesday, 21% of Neshoba County’s population is fully vaccinated, according to MSDH, and 24% of the county’s population had received one of the 13,061 total doses of COVID-19 vaccines administered in the county.
Vaccinations are being administered at Walgreens at 1002 W. Beacon Street and Walmart at 1005 W. Beacon Street, according to MSDH.
Neshoba General Hospital Chief Executive Officer Lee McCall said people should continue to take precautions against COVID-19. Those precautions include regular hand washing or sanitizing, wearing facial masks and practicing social distancing.
Mississippi State Department of Health numbers show that confirmed cases and hospitalizations have risen dramatically in recent weeks after reaching pandemic lows earlier this summer.
Earlier this summer, MSDH reported hospitalization cases were below 100 but have recently climbed to more than 1,000 statewide.
The state has 5,928 staffed hospital beds with 1,501 reportedly available as of Aug. 2. MSDH also reports 827 staffed ICU beds with 108 available statewide. Neshoba General does not have an ICU.
“I fear this is just the tip of the iceberg,” McCall said Tuesday afternoon.
Statewide, since the pandemic began in March 2020, 212,906 confirmed COVID-19 cases have been recorded by the MSDH along with 137,164 probable cases, totaling 350,590 cases. There have been 5,237 confirmed COVID-19 deaths, along with 2,353 probable deaths, totaling 7,590 deaths.
Anyone who does test positive is encouraged to contact their health care provider. Do not go into the emergency room unless there is an emergency, McCall said.
He is also encouraging people to get the vaccine. McCall said vaccinated individuals are less likely to contract the virus, often have milder symptoms and recover more quickly on average.
“The vaccine does not prevent you from contracting the virus but it does help you fight the virus,” McCall said. “We have vaccines available to anyone who wants one every day. They are highly effective.”
McCall said Neshoba General is testing record numbers of people in recent days. He said that in previous spikes the hospital had usually done fewer than 100 tests a day, Monday they did 186. He said they are seeing a roughly 1-in-3 positivity rate.
McCall said they do not do further testing to see what variant of the virus they are dealing with, but said that a random sampling test conducted by MSDH revealed that the dominant variant is the much-publicized “delta variant.”
He said that in a recent telephone call with health professionals and State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs, Dobbs compared the delta variant’s transmissibility to chickenpox or measles.
McCall said contributing factors could include the back-to-back fairs held in town that brought large crowds together and summer traveling, though he said it is hard to pin it on any one thing.
He said the public has “let their guard down” regarding the virus.
As far as a citywide mandate Mayor Young said he would wait.
“Our court is still going on, and we have a lot of outside visitors, so we have that on here at City Hall here for now,” Young said, adding it is for everyone regardless of vaccination status. “We don’t do any tests.”
“Our numbers are up,” Young said. “There is no doubt about that. I think a lot of businesses are doing what they do anyway and hopefully, they will generate the interest in the sake of doing business that they require employees and customers to wear masks while they are in the stores. To me, there is no sense in making a big deal out of a safety precaution. I think we can function without having any shutdowns if everybody follows suit on doing what we need to do to mitigate the spread.”
Neshoba Central’s Dr. Lundy Brantley said that the school district has made announcements on social media and encourages parents and students to consult the school plan located at their website www.neshobacentral.com. He said that the decision to wear a mask is ultimately up to the student’s parents at this time.
“We recommend, along with the CDC and MSDH, that everyone wear masks. However, it is the parents' decision to decide if their child will wear a mask,” Brantley said. “Please note that this could change in the future.”
Choctaw Tribal Schools said Chief Cyrus Ben has mandated masks to be worn on buses and in all Choctaw Tribal School facilities.
“Exceptions will be outside when small groups can physically distance themselves from others,” the CTS policy states. “Bus monitors will be on buses to assist with checking temperatures and to monitor mask-wearing. Regular cleaning schedules will be maintained throughout the school day and enhanced air purification systems are being installed. School nurses will continue to handle contact tracing, working in coordination with Choctaw Health Center. Please contact your school nurse if you have any concerns about your child’s health.”
Other school officials did not immediately return messages seeking comment on potential mask mandates or other precautions at area schools.