COVID-19 found in Hernando, Miss.
A City of Hernando employee has tested positive for the coronavirus, Mayor Tom Ferguson said Wednesday.
The new case emerged as Desoto County government officials were widening efforts to keep the virus from spreading.
Nearly 40% of the 34 coronavirus infections reported in Mississippi appear to have been identified on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to state health officials.
Hernando, a Memphis suburb of about 16,000 population, is the center of county government in Desoto County. Desoto ranks as the third most-populous county in Mississippi with more than 176,000 residents.
The case marks the fifth coronavirus patient identified in metropolitan Memphis and the first reported in a Mississippi suburb, as of Wednesday afternoon.
The name of the virus patient was not released. Nor was the employee’s department identified.
Hernando city officials met Wednesday to discuss options. All departments in the 150-employee municipality are continuing to operate, Ferguson said.
Desoto County Administrator Vanessa Lynchard said the new incident would not cause changes in county government operations.
Officials in the county on Tuesday reviewed new steps to keep all services in place while reducing personal contact between employees and the public.
“The last thing we want to do is shut any kind of services off,” Lynchard said.
Among the new steps outlined by Lynchard:
❚ Taxes can be paid online.
❚ Drivers can renew license tags online. New tags will be mailed.
❚ A drop box installed inside the county office building will accept payments. ❚ Justice Court will limit the number of people inside a courtroom to 15. Others will be asked to wait in hallways or in their vehicles.
❚ Screening and wider distances between people will be observed in some offices.
❚ New civil cases filed in Justice Court won’t be heard until after May 15.
“May 15 is just a date they picked that they hope is going to be a safer date,” Lynchard said.
Scientists and health officials recommend self-isolation to keep the virus from spreading between people in close quarters. As a result, many social and entertainment venues have closed or canceled events, school districts have suspended classes, and many companies have requested employees work from home.
In Desoto County, about 45,000 residents are employed in Memphis. Most of the shops and stores in Desoto County appear to be still open for business, said Carmen Kyle, executive director of the Southaven Chamber of Commerce.
While worries about grocery store shutdowns had spread among Mississippi residents, Kyle said state officials Tuesday assured local agencies the U.S. food supply is plentiful and sustainable.
The Southaven chamber has created a Facebook page to inform Desoto County residents about what businesses are doing in the county. The page is named Desoto County Commerce COVID 19.
The coronavirus case was the first reported in Desoto County and the 13th said to surface Tuesday and Wednesday in Mississippi, according to an online chart maintained by the Mississippi Department of Health. The 13 include two reported in Coahoma County in the Mississippi Delta. Two cases also have been identified next to Coahoma in Bolivar County.
Prior to Tuesday, four cases had been reported just east of Bolivar in Leflore County. In all, 34 cases have been identified throughout Mississippi. No deaths have been reported.