Mississippi physician: ‘One wild weekend’ can spread virus

by: News Staff

Posted: May 28, 2020 / 05:09 PM CDT / Updated: May 28, 2020 / 05:09 PM CDT

FILE – This undated electron microscope image made available by the U.S. National Institutes of Health in February 2020 shows the Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, yellow, emerging from the surface of cells, blue/pink, cultured in the lab. The sample was isolated from a patient in the U.S. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is warning doctors about a rare but serious condition in children linked with the coronavirus. In an alert issued Thursday, the CDC called the condition multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children. (NIAID-RML via AP, File)

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The state health officer says social gatherings are spreading the new coronavirus in parts of Mississippi.

Dr. Thomas Dobbs says every county is “one wild weekend from falling off the cliff.”

He says COVID-19 cases have increased rapidly in Wayne County since mid-May — and large gatherings are believed to be driving that.

A person with the virus attended a funeral May 17 in Baldwyn.

About 100 people were there, and the Health Department says at least nine have tested positive.

The department said Thursday that Mississippi has had more than 14,300 confirmed cases of the virus and nearly 700 deaths from it.

Stay up to date with the latest news by downloading the KTVE/KARD News App from the App Store or Google Play.