Hancock port receives grant to help with well and tank project
Port Bienville and Hancock County Port & Harbor Commission has been awarded a $2.2 million grant by the state Department of Environmental Quality for the…
pandemic
Test scores show historic COVID setbacks for kids across US
By COLLIN BINKLEY AP Education Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - The COVID-19 pandemic caused historic learning setbacks for America’s children, sparing no state or region as it erased decades of academic progress and widened racial disparities, according to results of a…
Jill Biden tests positive for COVID-19, has ‘mild’ symptoms
By ZEKE MILLER KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. (AP) — First lady Jill Biden tested positive for COVID-19 and was experiencing “mild symptoms,” the White House announced Tuesday. She had been vacationing with President Joe Biden in South Carolina when she began…
DMR accepting grant applications for pandemic response in seafood industry
The Mississippi Department of Marine Resources will be accepting applications from seafood processors and processing vessels to recoup money spent in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The application process will run from July 1 to August 16 on the DMR…
US Sen. Wicker of Mississippi again tests positive for COVID
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Republican U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi has again tested positive for COVID-19, his office said Monday. His communications director, Phillip Waller, said Wicker took a required test and received a positive result. “He will be…
Department of Health reports 11th pediatric death in the state
Today Mississippi State Department of Health reports an additional pediatric COVID-19 death in a child between 1 and 5 years of age. This brings Mississippi's total of pediatric COVID-19 deaths to 11 since the pandemic began. Unvaccinated children are vulnerable…
Mississippi working on plans for pandemic relief money
By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi senators are taking the first steps toward spending some of the $1.8 billion the state is receiving from the federal government for pandemic relief. Senators passed bills Monday to put $104.6 million…
George County to go to virtual learning Friday due to COVID
George County School District has announced that the schools will be conducting virtual learning Friday. An announcement from Superintendent Wade Whitney Jr. said that because of an increase in the number of positive COVID tests in the community and schools,…
Department of Health calls for all hospitals to join COVID care plan
The Mississippi State Department of Health issued a statewide order making participation in Mississippi COVID System of Care Plan mandatory for all licensed hospitals effective at noon today. The order will continue until January 23, 2022, unless revoked before then.…
Mississippi lieutenant governor tests positive for COVID-19
By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS and LEAH WILLINGHAM JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann has tested positive for COVID-19 after the opening day of a legislative session when Hosemann and many other people were walking around the Capitol…
Mississippi COVID-19 hospitalizations rise as cases spread
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Hospitalizations for COVID-19 continue rising rapidly in Mississippi as new cases proliferate. The state Health Department reported Monday that 695 people with confirmed cases of COVID-19 were hospitalized Sunday. That is up from 265 hospitalized two weeks earlier, on Dec.…
Memorial closes walk-in COVID-19 vaccine clinics
Due to increased demand in COVID-19 testing, Memorial Hospital at Gulfport will be closing its walk-in COVID-19 vaccine clinics as of 5 p.m. today. The clinics, located in Biloxi at 189 C Wal Mart Lane, and in Bay St. Louis…
Mississippi receives over $500M for K-12 school support
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi is receiving $543 million from the federal government to implement health measures to keep K-12 schools open during the ongoing pandemic and provide internet access, tutoring and mental health support to students. The money is…
Mississippi reports jump in COVID cases over 5 days
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The Mississippi State Department of Health is reporting more than 7,000 new COVID-19 cases over a five-day period. The department posted new numbers Monday, covering cases confirmed from Wednesday through Sunday. The state is seeing a significant increase…
US adds Merck pill as 2nd easy-to-use drug against COVID-19
By MATTHEW PERRONE WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. health regulators on Thursday authorized the second pill against COVID-19, providing another easy-to-use medication to battle the rising tide of omicron infections. The Food and Drug Administration authorization of Merck’s molnupiravir comes one…
New Orleans shortens Mardi Gras parade routes for 2022 season
NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- New Orleans officials say they are shortening parade routes for the upcoming Mardi Gras season because there are fewer police officers, medics and other first responders to deal with crowds. The city canceled Mardi Gras parades…
Mississippi public universities nix staff vaccine mandates
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi public universities are withdrawing policies requiring employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 after an injunction from a federal judge prohibiting the Biden administration from enforcing its vaccination mandate for federal contractors. Spokespersons for the University…
Mississippi confirms its 1st case of COVID omicron variant
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi health officials said Monday that the state’s first case of omicron variant of COVID-19 has been confirmed. The state Health Department said the case was in a fully vaccinated person who recently traveled to New…
1st US case of COVID omicron variant confirmed in California
By MICHAEL BALSAMO and ZEKE MILLER WASHINGTON (AP) — A person in California who had been vaccinated against COVID-19 became the first in the U.S. to have an identified case of the omicron variant, the White House announced Wednesday as scientists continue…
Mississippi official: Seniors are priority for booster shots
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi health officials say booster shots for the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine are now available at all county health department clinics, and people over the age of 65 are a priority for the extra jab. Eligibility for…
State reports third day of at least 3,000 cases of COVID
Today MSDH is reporting an additional 3,425 cases of COVID-19 in Mississippi and 34 deaths. There were 27 deaths between August 11 and August 25. Of those deaths, 5 were from Jackson County, 2 from Harrison and 1 from Pearl…
Health Department reports second day of COVID cases in 3,000 range
Today, the Mississippi State Department of Health is reporting an additional 3,385 cases of COVID-19 in Mississippi and 22 deaths. Nineteen deaths occurred between August 5 and August 24. One of those was in George County, three in Harrison County…
State Health Department sees COVID case numbers fall slightly
The Mississippi State Department of Health is reporting an additional 3,291 cases of COVID-19 in Mississippi and 111 deaths. Forty-one deaths occurred between August 19 and August 23. Of those deaths, 1 was in Hancock, 8 in Harrison, 1 in…
Mississippi National Guard to provide medical relief efforts to fight COVID-19
At the request of the state through the Federal Emergency Management Agency, an initial group of about 20 active-duty Air Force medical personnel, along with a command and control element have arrived in Mississippi as part of a Department of…