Jackson residents could soon face a fine for not wearing face masks in public.
Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba made the announcement at a press conference on Monday afternoon.
He went on to say that the city will also shut down businesses that do not require patrons to wear face coverings when they’re in those establishments.
News comes as the number of COVID-19 cases arise across the state, and as the economy opens up.
“In recent days we have seen a surge in confirmed cases not only statewide, but countywide,” he said. “We are still doing a relatively good job in terms of infection rates, (when compared with) cities of comparable size.”
Cases have continued to skyrocket in recent weeks. As of 6 p.m. June 28, 675 new cases of the infection were reported across the state, including 20 deaths, according to the Mississippi State Department of Health.
Two of those deaths were in Hinds County.
Meanwhile, Hinds County has surpassed the 2,000 mark in the number of cases, with 2,048 reported as of yesterday afternoon, health department numbers show.
Statewide, 26,567 cases have been confirmed, along with 1,059 deaths.
Lumumba reiterated a previous promise that if cases did not go down, he would be willing to again shut down the city.
Jackson, along with most of the state, was essentially shut down in April and May to help limit the spread of corona among residents.
“It is critical we protect ourselves and our residents. In addition to the fact that we will look to issue citations to individuals, we will also put in provisions where we will take action against business establishments.”
Lumumba did not say what the fine for individuals would be.
He said the failure for businesses to comply could result in the temporary revocation of occupancy licenses.
The city attorney was still crafting a new executive order outlining provisions at press time.
More details will be made available at a Tuesday press conference.
A chart providing more details on the COVID outbreak is shown below.
![COVID cases across the state]()
