Seven ICU beds are available in the metro area, thanks to COVID.
State officials held their regular press conference today to update residents on the coronavirus outbreak.
State Health Officer Thomas Dobbs said hospitals are continuing to experience a strain on resources, as the number of infections rise.
As of today, six ICU beds are currently available in hospitals in the Jackson area, with one in Tier One and Tier Two hospitals, and six in Tier Three hospitals, he said.
Meanwhile, the number of cases continue to rise. Today, 862 new cases were reported, including 23 deaths.
“Along with the increase in cases, we’re seeing increase stress on the hospital system. In the past five days, the total confirmed hospitalized patients has gone up 119 cases,” Dobbs said.
On June 27, the state had 490 patients hospitalized who were confirmed to have the virus. As of July 14, Mississippi had 850 people in hospitals confirmed with the virus. Another 254 hospitalized patients were expected to have the virus and awaiting test results; 120 individuals were on ventilators.
Statewide, 10 intensive care units in the state had zero beds.
Gov. Tate Reeves continued to urge residents across the state to wear masks and practice social distancing in public.
“It’s not fun; it’s not convenient, but it’s much, much better than a widespread economic shutdown. And it is way, way better than death.”
However, he stopped short of implementing a statewide mask requirement, saying that his administration is already taking the best course of action, which includes a mask mandate for the 13 hardest-hit counties, as well as a statewide ban on elective medical procedures.
Hinds and Madison County are among the hardest hit with Hinds having 3,102 cases and Madison having 1,560, according to the Mississippi State Department of Health. Both fall under the governor's mask mandate.
Reeves went on to blame hospitals for not following his executive order, which required every hospital that allowed elective surgeries to set aside 25 percent of their space for COVID patients.
