County Records Covid Spike

WATER VALLEY – The Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) is reporting 56 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Yalobusha County during the last week, marking the largest weekly spike since the agency first started tracking cases in March. The number of confirmed cases jumped from 493 to 549 from October 20 to 26, an upward trend in the county that parallels a sharp uptick in cases across the state and nation.
Yalobusha County EMA Director Dalton Coleman reported there are currently 85 active cases in the county, mostly in the Water Valley area including an outbreak at the Yalobusha Nursing Home where 31 residents and 14 employees have tested positive for the virus.
Coleman also said he is working on additional mask give-aways across the county in the days ahead, but cautioned that his supplies are starting to run low after weekly shipments to the county from Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) have now slowed to every other week.
“We were supposed to get a shipment this week, but MEMA has shifted their manpower with the hurricane coming in on the coast,” Coleman added.
The EMA director also noted that his priorities include restocking the supply for first responders in the county – fire fighters, deputies and police office, EMS workers as well as the Yalobusha County Detention Center. The shipments from MEMA typically include hand sanitizer, masks, face shields, disinfectant spray and PPE.
Coleman also noted that supplies have already been distributed to election officials to help protect election workers and voters when the polls open on Tuesday. This includes a large shipment earlier this month that includes thousands of pens, gallons of hand sanitizer and ample PPE for the big day. The supplies were purchased with Coronavirus Aid and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) funds appropriated to Mississippi.
“In addition to the big shipment, we were able to provide an additional 1,000 disposable masks to make sure we are covered,” Coleman added.
A monthly breakdown of Covid cases in the county shows there were six cases recorded in the county in March, 14 new cases in April, 74 in May, 67 in June, 151 in July, 62 in August, 75 in September and 100 new cases in October  as of Oct. 26.
More than 8.6 million people in the country have been infected with the virus and more than 225,000 people have died, according to statistics from John Hopkins University.