Dwight Howard
Superstar
‘Foolishness and Foolery’
Churches, Stores Reopen As Governor Overrides Mayors’ COVID-19 Orders
By Ashton Pittman
March 26, 2020
Roadside mannequins are inviting residents of Moss Point, Miss., to resume shopping at a local clothing store, restaurants are returning their dine-in services, and churches are re-opening their doors for services. Mayor Mario King described the burgeoning renewal in commerce and social life amidst the COVID-19 pandemic today as it swirled around him in his Gulf Coast town after Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves issued an executive order Tuesday that overruled local measures meant to stop the virus’ spread.
“His order completely makes our order null and void,” King, who closed businesses he deemed non-essential last week, told the Mississippi Free Press on Thursday afternoon. “So barbershops and salons are open today. People are actually at church making up Bible studies lost on Wednesday, so they’re having Thursday Bible studies. There are restaurants that re-opened their dine-in services today. … I understand they’re just trying to make a dollar, but if one person sneezes who has COVID-19 and someone else comes in, they’re possibly exposed to that. So his order puts our people at risk.”
Moss Point is located in Jackson County, which ranks no. 7 for the most novel coronavirus infections statewide, and where State officials confirmed an additional four cases this morning.
On March 19, King ordered the town’s residents to “shelter in place,” meaning they had to stay at home to help stop the spread of the virus, making exceptions only for certain “essential” businesses. But Reeves’ order on Tuesday freed up retail shops, churches and other organizations to reopen, despite the fact that the mayor had ordered them closed in line with recommendations from medical experts across the country.
“I just think this is complete foolishness and foolery, and it’s embarrassing,” King said today. “I am embarrassed not just as a mayor, but as a citizen of Mississippi. We are the laughingstock of the country because our governor has enacted an order that does not only protect the safety and welfare of the people, but puts Mississippians in harm’s way.”
On Thursday morning, the Mississippi State Department of Health confirmed 108 more cases and one more death, bringing the statewide total to 485 confirmed cases and six deaths.
King’s March 19 order went further than most other mayors’, closing all indoor restaurants, houses of worship, coffee shops, entertainment venues, sports facilities, fitness centers, salons, barbershops and a number of other services he deemed “non-essential” by afternoon the next day. The mayor kept essential services, like health-care facilities, grocery stores, pharmacies and others open, but with strict social-distancing measures in place, like requirements that people stay at least 6 feet apart in various facilities.
When Reeves issued his executive order Tuesday, though, he offered a much broader definition of exempt “essential services” that includes businesses and organizations like dine-in service restaurants, bars, real estate services, construction services, barbershops, gun and ammo stores, retail department stores, houses of worship and “faith-based facilities.”
The governor said in a press conference in Jackson this afternoon that he drew his list from a Department of Homeland Security list of “essential” businesses that should stay open, but many on his list are not in the federal version.
The governor’s order even specifically designates Uber and Lyft as “essential services.”
Full:
Mississippi Churches, Stores Reopen As Governor Overrides Mayors’ COVID-19 Orders
Churches, Stores Reopen As Governor Overrides Mayors’ COVID-19 Orders
By Ashton Pittman
March 26, 2020
Roadside mannequins are inviting residents of Moss Point, Miss., to resume shopping at a local clothing store, restaurants are returning their dine-in services, and churches are re-opening their doors for services. Mayor Mario King described the burgeoning renewal in commerce and social life amidst the COVID-19 pandemic today as it swirled around him in his Gulf Coast town after Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves issued an executive order Tuesday that overruled local measures meant to stop the virus’ spread.
“His order completely makes our order null and void,” King, who closed businesses he deemed non-essential last week, told the Mississippi Free Press on Thursday afternoon. “So barbershops and salons are open today. People are actually at church making up Bible studies lost on Wednesday, so they’re having Thursday Bible studies. There are restaurants that re-opened their dine-in services today. … I understand they’re just trying to make a dollar, but if one person sneezes who has COVID-19 and someone else comes in, they’re possibly exposed to that. So his order puts our people at risk.”
Moss Point is located in Jackson County, which ranks no. 7 for the most novel coronavirus infections statewide, and where State officials confirmed an additional four cases this morning.
On March 19, King ordered the town’s residents to “shelter in place,” meaning they had to stay at home to help stop the spread of the virus, making exceptions only for certain “essential” businesses. But Reeves’ order on Tuesday freed up retail shops, churches and other organizations to reopen, despite the fact that the mayor had ordered them closed in line with recommendations from medical experts across the country.
“I just think this is complete foolishness and foolery, and it’s embarrassing,” King said today. “I am embarrassed not just as a mayor, but as a citizen of Mississippi. We are the laughingstock of the country because our governor has enacted an order that does not only protect the safety and welfare of the people, but puts Mississippians in harm’s way.”
On Thursday morning, the Mississippi State Department of Health confirmed 108 more cases and one more death, bringing the statewide total to 485 confirmed cases and six deaths.
King’s March 19 order went further than most other mayors’, closing all indoor restaurants, houses of worship, coffee shops, entertainment venues, sports facilities, fitness centers, salons, barbershops and a number of other services he deemed “non-essential” by afternoon the next day. The mayor kept essential services, like health-care facilities, grocery stores, pharmacies and others open, but with strict social-distancing measures in place, like requirements that people stay at least 6 feet apart in various facilities.
When Reeves issued his executive order Tuesday, though, he offered a much broader definition of exempt “essential services” that includes businesses and organizations like dine-in service restaurants, bars, real estate services, construction services, barbershops, gun and ammo stores, retail department stores, houses of worship and “faith-based facilities.”
The governor said in a press conference in Jackson this afternoon that he drew his list from a Department of Homeland Security list of “essential” businesses that should stay open, but many on his list are not in the federal version.
The governor’s order even specifically designates Uber and Lyft as “essential services.”
Full:
Mississippi Churches, Stores Reopen As Governor Overrides Mayors’ COVID-19 Orders
