JACKSON — On Monday, July 20 Governor Tate Reeves announced that he has extended his Safe Return and county-specific executive orders, adding ten counties under the tighter social distancing measures to help limit transmission and protect public health.

Consulting with Dr. Dobbs and our state health experts, ten additional counties were identified as localized regions with spikes in cases and at higher risk for transmission: Bolivar, Covington, Forrest, Humphreys, Panola, Sharkey, Simpson, Tallahatchie, Tate, and Walthall Counties. They join 13 other counties that have been under the additional restrictions for the past week. The 13 counties already under stricter safe return orders are Claiborne, Desoto, Grenada, Harrison, Hinds, Jackson, Jefferson, Madison, Quitman, Rankin, Sunflower, Washington, and Wayne Counties

“COVID-19 is spreading and killing in our state. It’s not a hypothetical—it is happening,” said Governor Tate Reeves. “Today, I’ve extended our executive orders to mitigate the threat, adding 10 counties to the list of those with stricter measures in place.”

Both executive orders are extended for an additional two weeks until 8:00 AM on Monday, August 3, 2020.