Reeves extends Safe Return order, adds 10 counties to list under tighter restrictions

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Gov. Tate Reeves announced Monday that he has extended his Safe Return and county-specific executive orders, adding 10 counties under the tighter social distancing measures to help limit transmission and protect public health.

Consulting with Dr. Dobbs and state health experts, 10 additional counties were identified as localized regions with spikes in cases and at higher risk for transmission: Bolivar, Covington, Forrest, Humphreys, Panola, Sharkey, Simpson, Tallahatchie, Tate and Walthall counties. They join 13 other counties that have been under the additional restrictions for the past week.

“COVID-19 is spreading and killing in our state. It’s not a hypothetical—it is happening,” Reeves said in a statement. “Today, I’ve extended our executive orders to mitigate the threat, adding 10 counties to the list of those with stricter measures in place.”

Both executive orders are extended for an additional two weeks until 8 a.m. Monday, Aug. 3, 2020.

You can view the signed executive orders here: Executive Order No. 1508, Executive Order No. 1509. All executive orders regarding COVID-19 are available at governorreeves.ms.gov/covid-19.