Mississippi’s State Health Officer Dr Thomas Dobbs, on Friday, issued an ‘isolation order’, threatening jail time and fines for COVID-19 positive patients who don’t isolate themselves. On Thursday, the state reported 5,048 fresh coronavirus cases and 54 deaths.

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“All persons residing in Mississippi must immediately home-isolate on first knowledge of infection with COVID-19. Failure to do so could result in fines and jail time,” the order read. 

It further states that patients must isolate for at least 10 days without contacting others. Two possible levels of violation were mentioned – one, a refusal to obey a health officer, comes with a $500 fine and, possibly, six months behind bars. Mississippi schools must allow students and staff members who have COVID-19 to isolate away from campuses, the order added. 

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“We are clearly at the worst part of the pandemic that we’ve seen throughout, and it’s continued to worsen. We’re seeing higher and higher numbers of not just cases but hospitalizations, people in intensive care units, life support. And sadly, as we’ve seen, additional deaths are going to follow. Without a doubt we have surpassed our previous peaks by a substantial margin, and we expect to see that continue,”  Dobbs said at a news briefing.

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 Mississippi has the highest number of new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents in the nation, State epidemiologist Paul Byers said, as per NBC reports. The southern state has United States’ second-lowest vaccination rate. It had recorded a record-breaking one-day spike on Monday with 7,839 cases. Nearly 1,700 people are hospitalized for covid-19, and 467 ICU beds are occupied in the state, the Washington Post reports. 

Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves, on Friday, said that he has entrusted schools districts to decide whether students and teachers should wear masks.

On Thursday, 

Three United States Senators, including Roger Wicker from Mississippi, announced that they have tested positive for COVID-19. The lawmakers had all been vaccinated against the disease.