Mississippi’s capital depletes ICU availability amid COVID-19 surge

Jackson, Miss., has depleted its intensive care unit (ICU) capacity due to a surge in COVID-19 cases, health officials reported Thursday.

State Health Officer Thomas Dobbs told Mississippi residents to “protect yourself and your family” in a tweet alerting the public to the lack of ICU beds in the state capital, first reported by CBS station WJTV.

Zero ICU beds in Jackson. Very few elsewhere.

Please protect yourself and your family. pic.twitter.com/08CxKh6Jzd

— thomas dobbs (@TCBPubHealth) November 12, 2020

On Thursday, only 106, or 11.9 percent, of the state’s 888 adult ICU beds were available for patients, according to data from the Mississippi Department of Health.

During an hourlong broadcasted discussion with the health department, Dobbs underscored that the state’s coronavirus case trajectory is going “very much in the wrong direction.”

Mississippi reported 1,271 new coronavirus cases Wednesday and 17 deaths. Overall, the state has recorded 130,665 total cases and 3,514 COVID-19 fatalities.

“If we don’t make changes immediately, we’ll see critical shortages of first-line care for the seriously ill and injured,” state health officials said, according to WJTV. “We know what works: social distancing, small gatherings, and masks.”

Coronavirus cases are rising across the country, and experts say the situation will worsen as winter arrives and people spend more time indoors.

In a press conference Thursday, Gov. Tate Reeves (R) said Mississippi would not participate in a nationwide lockdown even if the federal government mandates one, dual NBC/ABC affiliate WDAM reported.

“We are not going to participate in a nationwide lockdown,” he said, adding that closing the economy for six weeks would be “totally and completely beyond reasonableness.”

Reeves’s comments came after an adviser to President-elect Joe Biden’s COVID-19 response force suggested that the nation should undergo a four- to six-week lockdown to drive down the surging numbers.