■ Mississippi’s top public health official recommended mask-wearing after a mandate was lifted.

Continued precautions urged as governor eases restrictions

JACKSON, Miss. — Mississippi’s top public health official is urging people to continue wearing masks in public to slow the spread of the coronavirus, even after Republican Gov. Tate Reeves lifted a mask mandate. Dr. Thomas Dobbs, the state health officer, said in a news conference Monday that Mississippi has seen a significant decrease in hospitalizations from COVID-19 in recent weeks, but “we’re not done with the COVID pandemic.”

“Just like in a baseball game, if you’re up a run or two in the sixth or seventh inning, you don’t just lay down and let the other team just go at it on offense,” Dobbs said. “It’s time to continue with some of the safety measures we have in place. Continue to mask in public. Continue to avoid indoor social gatherings. And get vaccinated when it’s your turn.”

Reeves last week lifted the mask mandate that had been in place for most of Mississippi. He recommended that people continue to wear masks but said the governor’s office was “getting out of the business of telling people what they can and cannot do.”

Reeves said cities are allowed to keep local mandates. Jackson and Hattiesburg are among the cities that have done so.

The governor also lifted most other restrictions on businesses. His executive order that took effect Wednesday specified that “close-contact” businesses such as barbershops, beauty salons and massage or tattoo parlors should encourage their employees and customers to wear masks.

Mississippi has a population of about 3 million. The Health Department said Monday that more than 488,000 people have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccination, and nearly 276,000 people are fully vaccinated.

Meanwhile, a few dozen activists rallied Monday at the Texas Capitol to protest Gov. Greg Abbott’s decision to lift his order requiring Texans to don masks.

The Amplified Sound Coalition of music industry workers and the Austin chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America mounted the rally. They called for Abbott to reconsider last week’s decision until 70 percent of the state’s essential workers are vaccinated against COVID-19.

The viral illness has killed about 45,000 people in Texas, the nation’s third-highest COVID-19 death toll. The Texas per-capita COVID-19 death rate is the nation’s 24th highest, according to Johns Hopkins University researchers.

In other developments:

■ California Gov. Gavin Newsom will deliver his third State of the State address Tuesday from Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, the home field of the World Series champions that has been transformed into one of the nation’s largest COVID-19 vaccination sites. “Dodger Stadium represents California’s spirit of service. Once filled with dedicated fans, it is now filled with dedicated health care providers,” Newsom spokesperson Sahar Robertson said in a statement Monday.

■ Hawaii has detected a new COVID-19 variant in the islands, one that first emerged in South Africa. The state Department of Health said Monday the virus, which has technical name B.1.351 was found in an Oahu resident with no travel history.

■ Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Monday said limiting the mass vaccination site at Chicago’s United Center to city residents is due to the federal government wanting to make sure people most in need are being vaccinated.

■ Florida Gov. Ron Desantis said Monday that he would drop the eligibility age for the coronavirus vaccine from 65 to 60, allowing 1.4 million more Floridians to get vaccinated starting next week. Desantis made the announcement at a news conference in which he also railed against the latest federal stimulus package, which he said rewards states struggling with the virus while penalizing states that have fared better.