Reeves says re-opening Mississippi will be ‘cautious’ and ‘safe for all’

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said Wednesday that he will most likely allow the statewide shelter-in-place order to expire on Monday, April 27, as scheduled, but that doesn’t mean that everything will be going back to normal immediately.

Indicating that the order came as part of a process, Reeves said the process of re-opening non-essential businesses will be incremental and not without restrictions.

“Whatever we do is going to be cautious, and it’s going to be gradual,” Reeves said. “We have to begin re-opening, but we also have to do it in a way that is safe for all.”

The governor said a decision about the order will be made within the next day or so.

Reeves credited his ability to gradually re-open business to the people of the state who are, for the most part, complying with the order.

Mississippi is dealing with small, localized outbreaks instead of broad outbreaks, leading Reeves to look at localized responses.

“We have talked about the potential of a regional approach, for instance or a county-by-county approach,” Reeves said. “We are also looking at industries and making decisions on industries that can quickly get back to work and do so in a safe way.”

State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs agreed.

“I think a lot of indicators strongly support looking at modest, measured, thoughtful mechanisms to move towards normalcy,” Dobbs said.