26 Mississippi legislators test positive for COVID-19

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The numbers of COVID-19 cases at the Mississippi Capitol continue to go up.

During the governor’s news conference Wednesday afternoon, State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs said that 26 legislators have now tested positive for the virus, along with 10 staffers.

Not all of the results of testing at the Capitol have come back, yet, and additional cases are possible.

Among those who tested positive are Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, House Speaker Philip Gunn, and Reps. Bo Brown, Earle Banks, Ronnie Crudup Jr. and Kevin Ford.

The numbers of positive cases illustrate how contagious COVID-19 is. The number of Mississippi lawmakers is 174 —122 representatives and 52 senators. The 26 infected lawmakers represent a 15% contagion rate.