COVID-19
Vicksburg Mayor George Flaggs Jr. speaks on current mandates and a timeline on removing them

In a mayoral Q&A on VTV Friday, Mayor George Flaggs Jr. opened the broadcast by introducing Tabitha Crawford, a COVID Compliance Officer.
Crawford stated that residents have been resilient in helping curve the progression of COVID-19. Â “Through the resilience of the citizens of Vicksburg, we were able to get out of the hot zone real fast,” stated Crawford.
Crawford expressed the need for the citizens to stay vigilant in helping to curb the spread of COVID-19 by continuing to abide by guidelines.
Flaggs stated that the county has decided not to go any further with the mandate of masks in the area, but pointed out that county and city are two different areas with different responsibilities. While the numbers are down, Flaggs is concerned with the decline and a decrease in desire for residents to take advantage of getting the COVID-19 vaccine.
Despite the issues, Flaggs was able to praise the community for its efforts in this pandemic: “We have come together as citizens of this community,” he added, “You have done the job we have asked you to do.”
“I commend you Vicksburg, I commend you Warren County, I commend the citizens, I applaud you for what you’ve done” -Mayor George Flaggs Jr.
If the numbers continue to decline, Flaggs has every confidence that all restrictions in the city of Vicksburg can be removed and the public will be able to take their health into their own hands. He stated that he believes that in Vicksburg, the citizens are doing everything they can.
However, for the next two weeks, the city’s mandates will still stand. “I can not in good conscious go and do it today,” stated Flaggs, addressing the public’s question as to whether Vicksburg will lift the current mandates. “Two more weeks out of the whole year won’t hurt us.”
He followed up by stating that if the numbers continue their trend, he has every confidence that all restrictions can be removed in two-weeks time.
Some relief was mentioned, however. Restrictions on bars being required to close at 1 a.m. can now stay open until 2 a.m.
Still in effect for the next two weeks are the following:
- Masks continue to be mandatory inside public business buildings where social distancing cannot be practiced.
- Masks are required for employees of restaurants, bars, retail, grocery stores, salons, barber shops and other care facilities, along with tattoo parlors and pet groomers.
- Businesses must continue to sanitize high contact areas including breakrooms, door handles and carts
- Curfew 7:30 pm – 7:30 am until school is out
Crime was another concern on the mayor’s mind, which he also took the opportunity to address. While the number of violent crimes are down in the area, “We still have too many shootings,” stated Flaggs.
To address this, he stated that Vicksburg Police Department will increase patrols between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. He expressed his willingness to fix the police department to where shootings and activities will be less of a concern and a willingness to clean off the streets and implement new policies going forward to aid in that goal.
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