Virus rate trending down
While the number of new coronavirus cases has fallen over the last two weeks in Neshoba County, per capita the county leads in the number of cases and deaths.
Statewide, while the number of cases has continued to rise, hospitalization and intubation rates have remained steady, which is the figure health officials say is most important to watch because more available testing is going to produce more cases.
"We're not seeing any decline (in cases)," Dobbs said Monday. "Hospitalizations are still significant numbers. We've got 100 people on ventilators and 163 in ICUs. It's really a big challenge, because we have normal utilization.
"I get calls every day from people saying ‘Hey, the ICU is full, what can we do?' The only way to keep it from getting (more patients) in there is to stop transmission. No amount of planning that can overcome massive numbers of coronavirus, which we may very well have in the fall."
The high numbers here are why Dobbs was involved in the Neshoba County Fair Board's decision to cancel the 2020 edition. He spoke multiple times with Fair organizers and had advised them about the dangers of moving forward as usual.
"I talked to them about mitigating strategies that could be employed (to limit the spread), but given the nature of the Fair, I told them a traditional event would not be appropriate," Dobbs said. "I applaud their efforts to protect their community."
Neshoba has been hit particularly hard by the virus in terms of overall cases and deaths among its contemporaries. The county ranks fourth among Mississippi's 82 counties in total cases of the virus and second in deaths. Native Americans are the hardest hit.
As of Tuesday, Neshoba County had reported 895 confirmed cases, trailing only Hinds (1,349), Madison (905) and Jones (899) counties. Fifty-four Neshoba Countians have lost their lives, including 23 in the county's nursing homes and long-term care facilities. On Tuesday, four new deaths were announced in Neshoba County.
As a state, Mississippi topped 20,000 cases on Tuesday. The state Department of Health announced 353 new cases and 20 deaths, bringing the total cases to 20,152 and deaths to 915.
Of the 895 cases, over 66 percent or nearly 600 have impacted Native Americans. Nearly 70 percent of the deaths here have been Native Americans.
According to a The New York Times database, Neshoba County leads the state with cases per 100,000 and deaths per 100,000 people. Neshoba has 2,999 cases per 1,000, with the state as a whole only at 665. The second highest county is Scott, with 2,428 cases per 100,000. Deaths in the state are at 30 per 100,000, but Neshoba has 170 per 100,000.
The Times database also revealed good news, a combination of flat and falling numbers for the county over the last week after a series of rising counts.
Gov. Tate Reeves said last week he's "glad" the Neshoba County Fair Board voted to cancel the 2020 Fair.
Reeves' comments came last Wednesday at his daily COVID-19 press conference.
"I will miss going to the fair this year," Reeves said. "I've spoken under the historic pavilion every year for the last 17 years. It's always a great opportunity for me to come out and spend a couple of days listening to the people."
The board voted to cancel the Fair June 3, only the second time since World War II when the Fair was put on hold. The Fair was cancelled in 1942, 1943, 1944, 1945 and resumed in 1946.
Reeves, 46, said his memories of the Fair go back to his childhood. While growing up in Florence, the first-term governor said he would go to the Fair with a family friend.
He added that he talked to some of the people heavily involved in the Fair, and although he didn't tell them what to do, he offered an opinion.
"It's a great, great Mississippi tradition," he said. "I hate we're not having the Fair this year, but when you talk about prioritizing getting businesses back open in a responsible way, you realize some of the fun stuff that produces big crowds can be problematic, and we're better off as a state if we don't allow those things to go on as planned."