Mississippi Hospitals Run Out Of ICU Beds, Gov Defiant

The Mississippi Free Press reports:

With COVID-19 cases ramping up, Mississippi’s capital city has run out of ICU beds. “Zero ICU beds in Jackson. Very few elsewhere. Please protect yourself and your family,” Mississippi State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs said in a grim tweet this morning.

There is still no statewide mask mandate; Gov. Tate Reeves allowed it to expire on Sept. 30 after the state successfully beat back the summer wave—a decision Dobbs had shown discomfort with at the time. Jackson is not the only large Mississippi city with no or few ICU beds available.

Five remain in the state’s second largest city, Gulfport, and none in neighboring Biloxi. There are zero ICU beds available in Southaven and just one in nearby Olive Branch, both located in DeSoto County, where the sheriff is refusing to enforce mask and social distancing orders.

Jackson, MS is out of ICU beds & only 12% of ICU beds remain open statewide as COVID19 continues to ravage the state

But GOP Gov. Tate Reeves refuses to re-enact the statewide mask mandate b/c “people need to be self-reliant & not depend on government.”?https://t.co/YssuLZFxpw

— Qasim Rashid, Esq. (@QasimRashid) November 13, 2020