First coronavirus deaths reported in Arkansas

LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas has had its first deaths from the coronavirus outbreak. Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Tuesday announced two people have died from COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus.

Faulkner County's deputy coroner said the deaths include a 91-year-old man who died at a Conway hospital. The number of coronavirus cases in Arkansas rose from 201 Monday to 218.

Hutchinson said he planned to call a special session beginning Thursday, March 26, to address a $353 million shortfall the state faces because of the outbreak's effects.

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MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland on Monday ordered all non-essential businesses to close and residents to stay at home for the next two weeks.

“As you are well aware now, we are in serious, unprecedented times which call for decisive actions to keep everyone safe,” Strickland said.

Shelby County, along with suburban cities, are under similar orders.

The Safer at Home Executive Order will go into effect on Tuesday, March 24 at 6 p.m. Residents will be required to stay at home unless deemed as having an essential job or for essential needs The order included guidelines on what constitutes “essential needs,” including: • Go to the grocery store, convenience or warehouse store

• Go to the pharmacy

• Go to medical appointments • Go pick up food from restaurants

• Care for other friends/family members

• Take a walk/go out in nature • Walk your pets

• Take pets to veterinarian

• Help others to get necessary supplies

• Receive deliveries from any business which delivers Also included were a list of prohibited activities. Do not:

• Go to work unless you are providing an essential services • Visit family/friends if it is not urgent

• Maintain less than six feet of space between you and another person

• Visit loved ones in a hospital, nursing home or skilled nursing facility “Essential Services” were defined as well. Those services include:

• research and laboratory services

• hospitals

• walk-in-care health facilities • emergency veterinary and livestock services

• elder care

• medical wholesale and distribution

• home health care workers or aides for the elderly

• dental services

• nursing homes or residential health care facilities

• medical supplies and equipment manufacturers and providers

• grocery stores, (including stores that sale non-grocery items like Family Dollar, Dollar General, Wal-Mart)

• Auto repair shops

• pharmacies

• convenience stores

• farmer’s markets

• gas stations

• restaurants/bars (but only for take-out/delivery)

• hardware and building material stores

• ‘Retail To-Go’ – Stores that will exclusively deliver goods to customers curbside.

• Cell phone and electronic store

• trash and recycling collection, processing and disposal • mail and shipping services (FedEX, UPS)

• laundromats

• home or building cleaning

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and maintenance

• child care services

• auto repair

• warehouse/distribution and fulfillment

• funeral homes, crematoriums

and cemeteries

• pest control

• property management company

• skilled trades such as electricians, HVAC, and plumbers

• commercial and residential

construction

• planning, engineering, design

firms

• food banks

• homeless shelters

• banks

• newspaper/media

• Uber, Lyft, MATA and transportation services

• Blood banks

• Airports

• food processing, manufacturing agents

• chemical plants

• medical equipment/instruments • pharmaceuticals

• sanitary products

• telecommunications

• microelectronics/semiconductor • agriculture/farms To help clarify, guidelines also included a list of “nonessential” services, which should be closed for the duration.

• Personal appearance businesses (like hair salons, eyelash salons, barber shop, tattoo shop, body piercing shop)

• Retail with no exclusive delivery or curb-side pickup

• Entertainment and recreation facilities (bowling alleys, trampoline parks)

• Indoor rock climbing

• Craft Business (ex. seize the clay)

• Gyms, including yoga, barre and spin facilities

• Concert venues (ex. Minglewood) • Theaters (ex. Playhouse on the Square, Hatiloo)

• Movie theaters

• Shopping malls

• Golf courses

• Sporting event venues

• Skating rink

• Dance Schools Strickland issued the emergency declaration on March 17, just as Shelby County health officials confirmed the third case of coronavirus in the county. On Monday, the county confirmed its 84th case.

“This declaration allows the City and its departments and agencies to seek any and all necessary federal and state funding to facilitate the response to the Emergency. Additionally, all required procedures and formalities as to procurements on behalf of the City are hereby suspended for purchased of equipment, materials, supplies and services needed for Emergency management purposes,” the mayor said in

the declaration. ***

JACKSON, Miss. — The number of presumed positive coronavirus cases in Mississippi is now at 377.

The Mississippi State Department of Health confirmed 57 new cases Wednesday morning.

As of Wednesday morning, there have been 1,943 people tested in Mississippi.

Twenty-seven percent of those who tested positive have been hospitalized, as of March 23.

Sixty-seven new cases were identified Sunday, March 22. They include: Bolivar, Chickasaw, Coahoma, Copiah, De Soto, Forrest, Franklin, Grenada, Harrison, Hinds, Holmes, Lafayette, Lawrence, Lee, Leflore, Lincoln, Madison, Marshall, Montgomery, Oktibbeha, Panola, Pearl River, Pike, Pontotoc, Scott, Sunflower, Tate, Tippah, Tunica, Walthall, Washington, Wilkinson, and Winston counties.

On March 19, the first instate death from the virus was reported of a man from Hancock County. On March 25, a second death was reported from a man in Holmes County.

Sixty new cases were identified Saturday, March 21.

They include: Attala, Clay, Coahoma, De Soto, Forrest, Franklin, George, Grenada, Hancock, Harrison, Hinds, Itawamba, Jackson, Lafayette, Leake, Lee, Lincoln, Lowndes, Madison, Marshall, Panola, Pearl River, Pike, Rankin, Simpson, Tunica, Union, and Washington.

Thirty new cases were identified Friday, March 20. They include: Adams, Coahoma, DeSoto, Franklin, Hancock, Harrison, Hinds, Holmes, Humphreys, Jackson, Lafayette, Lawrence, Lee, Leflore, Madison, Marshall, Monroe, Pike, Rankin, Tippah and Webster counties.

Sixteen new cases were identified Thursday morning, with Harris and Pearl River counties each seeing three new cases. DeSoto, Forrest, Holmes, Jackson, Jones, Smith, Walthall, Wilkinson, Winston and Yazoo counties each saw one new confirmed case of the virus.

Thirteen new cases were reported Wednesday morning, with Madison County seeing their first case. Bolivar County now has two cases, Perry County has one case and DeSoto County now has one.

Coahoma County is now at two cases, Hancock County has one case, Harrison County now has three, and Pearl River County has two new cases, leaving them with four total.

Nine new cases were reported Tuesday morning, with four in Hinds County, three in Leflore County, one in Jackson County and one in Harrison County.

The first case was reported Wednesday night by an adult man in Forrest County.

Another is a woman over 65 who recently traveled to North Carolina. That woman is in the hospital.

A third case is an adult man in Forrest County who recently traveled to Florida.

He’s been self-isolating at home.

The fourth case is in Leflore County. That is in a woman who is isolating at home.

The fifth case is a woman over 65 in Copiah County.

She is currently hospitalized.

The sixth is another woman over 65 in Pearl River County, who is also hospitalized.

The next two cases were in Hinds and Copiah counties. Monday morning, two more cases were reported in Monroe and Pearl River counties.

Mississippi Department of Health has a hotline open 24 hours, 7 days a week for any coronavirus-related questions: 877-978-6453.

The list of facilities that will be testing starting on Monday, March 23rd, is as follows: Forrest General Hospital – Hattiesburg Hattiesburg Clinic – Hattiesburg Gulfport Memorial Hospital – Gulfport St. Dominic Hospital – Jackson Itawamba/Med Plus Urgent Care – Fulton Lee/Med Plus Urgent Care – Tupelo Memorial Drinkwater Internal Medicine Walk-In Clinic – Bay St. Louis Memorial Long Beach Walk-In Clinic – Long Beach Memorial Physician Walk-In Clinics – Walmart – Biloxi Memorial Primary Care Cedar Lake – Biloxi Memorial Stone County Medical Center – Wiggins Memorial Surgery Center of Ocean Springs – Ocean Springs Neshoba General Hospital – Philadelphia North Mississippi Medical Center – Tupelo Singing River Health System Clinics – Ocean Springs Singing River Health System Clinics – Pascagoula Spring River Health System Clinics – Woolmarket.