Today, Governor Tate Reeves signed Executive Order 1466 establishing a statewide shelter-in-place for Mississippi to slow the spread of COVID-19 and protect the health of all who call our state home. The Mississippi Department of Health determined that our state has now reached a critical point in the cycle of the outbreak, and Governor Reeves announced his decision to issue the shelter-in-place order for Mississippi at a press conference this afternoon. Mississippi is rapidly increasing testing and strictly enforcing quarantines for anyone that investigators believe has been exposed to the virus. The shelter-in-place will begin this Friday, April 3, 2020 at 5:00 PM and be in effect until Monday, April 20, 2020 at 8:00 AM.

In this latest executive order, the Governor lays out the guidelines of the statewide shelter-in-place to slow the spread of COVID-19, including:

  • Individuals are to stay at home except for the limited allowances in the executive order.
  • When outside of their homes, people must follow social distancing guidelines by maintaining a 6-foot distance from others and avoid groups of 10 or more.
  • Evictions are suspended, though people are still required to pay any rent or make any mortgage payments.
  • All nonessential businesses are to stop all activities other than those necessary for minimum operations (e.g. payroll, health insurance, security) and enabling employees to work from home.
  • Social and other non-essential gatherings in groups of more than 10 people must be cancelled or rescheduled.
  • Restaurants and bars may only remain open for drive-thru, curbside, and/or delivery service.
  • People may leave their homes only to perform essential activities, such as caring for someone in the vulnerable population, getting food or necessary supplies, and working for an essential business.
  • Individual outdoor recreation is encouraged, but not group recreation or activities such as soccer or basketball games

March 31, 2020

Today, Governor Tate Reeves signed a new executive order establishing a shelter-in-place for Lauderdale County to slow the spread of COVID-19 and protect the health of all Mississippians. Read the order in its entirety here.

The Mississippi Department of Health identified Lauderdale County as the first localized region for additional restrictions, and Governor Reeves announced the shelter-in-place order for Lauderdale County at a press conference this morning. This follows the "Identify and Isolate" strategy that the state health officer, Dr. Thomas Dobbs, laid out at a press conference last week.

Mississippi is rapidly increasing testing and strictly enforcing quarantines for anyone that investigators believe has been exposed to the virus. Two-week shelter-in-place orders are a tool to allow health officials to flex resources to areas that carry special risk. The shelter-in-place will begin at 10:00 PM and be in effect through April 14, 2020.

In this latest executive order, the Governor lays out the guidelines of the shelter-in-place to slow the spread of COVID-19 in Lauderdale County, including:

  • Individuals are to stay at home except for the limited allowances in the executive order.
  • When outside of their homes, people must follow social distancing guidelines by maintaining a 6-foot distance from others and avoid groups of 10 or more.
  • Evictions are suspended, though people are still required to pay any rent or make any mortgage payments.
  • All nonessential businesses are to stop all activities other than those necessary for minimum operations (e.g. payroll, health insurance, security) and enabling employees to work from home.
  • Social and other non-essential gatherings in groups of more than 10 people must be cancelled or rescheduled.
  • Restaurants and bars may only remain open for drive-thru, curbside, and/or delivery service.
  • People may leave their homes only to perform essential activities, such as caring for someone in the vulnerable population, getting food or necessary supplies, and working for an essential business.
  • Individual outdoor recreation is encouraged, but not group recreation or activities such as soccer or basketball games.

March 27, 2020

Last evening, Governor Tate Reeves issued a supplement to Executive Order 1463 to clarify and provide direction for leaders across the state to protect the health and well-being of Mississippians during the outbreak of COVID-19. See the full supplement here.

“Consulting with our state’s health experts, we have established a statewide standard of social distancing and defining essential businesses to slow the spread. There should be no confusion about my intent and commitment to protecting public health. We must come together as leaders, as a state, to ensure the health of all who call Mississippi home. We are all in this fight together,” said Governor Tate Reeves.

In this supplement to Executive Order No. 1463, Governor Reeves provides clarity to ensure uniform statewide parameters to slow the spread of COVID-19, including:

  • No measures can be adopted that are less restrictive than the executive order.
  • Any existing local measures can remain in effect under the executive order, as long as they provide the same minimum standards established in the executive order and do not impose restrictions that would prevent essential services from operating.

March 25, 2020

Gov. Reeves has issued several Executive Orders (EO), and perhaps the most significant one was issued yesterday evening with EO 1463. See the full EO here. Gov. Reeves has resisted the calls to issue a shelter-in-place order as some states have done, and we expect this could be as close as we get to such an order. In summary:

  • Mississippians must avoid non-essential gatherings of 10 people or more until April 17th (This excludes airports, medical facilities, grocery/department stores, factories/manufacturing facilities)
  • Suspends dine-in services at restaurants and bars across the state, instructing them to use drive-thru, take-out, or delivery services until April 17th
  • Restricts visitation to hospitals, nursing homes, or long-term care facilities until April 17th (exception for end of life circumstances)
  • Directs businesses to allow every employee possible to work from home
  • Defines essential businesses to give clear guidance to partners at the local level and ensure no essential services are closed. Essential businesses are defined as public safety and first responders, all essential healthcare operations, essential infrastructure (i.e. power, transportation, communications, etc.), manufacturing, agriculture, essential retail, media, education (including meals), financial services, professional services, construction, military personnel, childcare, religious entities, etc.

In addition to this order, Governor Reeves has also issued several other orders dealing with various measures related to education, unemployment, and testing. These can all be found on the Secretary of State's website. Additionally, the Mississippi Division of Medicaid, under the purview of Governor Reeves, has requested and been granted waivers that will allow the division more flexibility to combat and respond to COVID-19 and the needs of Mississippi Medicaid beneficiaries. You can read details of the waivers here.

Mississippi Legislature Suspends Session

The Mississippi Legislature has adjourned until Wednesday, April 1st at 2:00 p.m. in response to growing concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic. HCR 65 was passed to suspend the session and allow the Lt. Governor and Speaker of the House authority to reconvene at an agreed upon time with the advice of State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs. The legislature also pushed the legislative dates back at least 30-days which may be a better indication of when they plan to reconvene. The new sine die date is June 9th, and all deadlines will be pushed back accordingly. Before adjourning, the legislature also approved SCR 561, which allowed for the adoption of HB 1647, which authorizes leave with pay for local government employees during a declared state of emergency.

Governor Reeves Issues Emergency Proclamation and Executive Orders

In addition, Governor Reeves issued a state of emergency proclamation for Mississippi on March 14th and has since issued several emergency orders in response to COVID-19.

  • Executive Order 1458 allows state agencies to determine which state employees are essential and send others home. It also ensures state employees receive paid leave due to absences related to coronavirus. Additionally, the order instructs school districts to work with the Mississippi Department of Education on distance learning initiatives and asks districts to maintain access to free and reduced lunches for students.
  • Executive Order 1459 activates the Mississippi National Guard to support COVID-19 testing efforts.
  • Executive Order 1460 orders schools to remain closed through April 17th. The Governor also granted flexibility to the State Board of Education to provide waivers and flexibility for end of year testing and accountability measures.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.