A website that ranks how well communities are following social distancing guidelines has given Attala County an “F.”
The Unacast Social Distancing Scoreboard measures “the efficacy of social distancing initiatives at the local level.”
The scoreboard is based on mobility tracking data that tracks the percentage of increase or decrease in travel in an area since the social distancing guidelines were implemented to help slow the spread of COVID-19.
According to the scoreboard, travel in Attala County has either increased or decreased by only 10%. That constitutes an “F” ranking.
An “A” grade is given to counties that have seen a travel decrease of 40% or greater.
The state of Mississippi as a whole earned a “C” grade from the scoreboard.
There is no “shelter-in-place” order for Mississippi as a whole, but today Gov. Tate Reeves issued that order for Lauderdale County after seeing a quick increase in cases. Reeves announced last week that communities or “hot spots” that don’t show improvement could be issued “shelter-in-place” orders.
Over the weekend, President Donald Trump extended the social distancing guidelines through April 30.
The guidelines state that people should stay at home as much as possible and should only leave house if it is absolutely necessary. That means only take trips to the grocery store, pharmacy, or doctor. If you do have to leave home, you should keep a distance of 6 feet between you and other people when out.
Last week, the City of Kosciusko passed a resolution addressing coronavirus and the executive order issued by Governor Tate Reeves. That resolution restricted restaurants to take-out or drive-thru only and also reflected the Governor’s mandate of not having any gatherings of 10 or more.
“We need to start taking this serious,” said Kosciusko Mayor Jimmy Cockroft. “We still have a lot of businesses that aren’t abiding by the Governor’s order of having less than 10 people inside at a time. People need to start staying at home as often as possible.”
Cockroft said that Kosciusko Police have been instructed to break up any gatherings of 10 or more.
As of this report, Attala County has 10 reported cases of COVID-19 and that includes two local doctors. Medical experts continue to expect the number of cases and hospitalizations to get worse before it gets better.
How you can help slow the spread of COVID-19:
- Wash your hands for at least 20 seconds with soap and water multiple times a day.
- Disinfect surfaces (door knobs, lights switches, table tops) multiple times a day.
- Stay at home as much as possible.
- Keep 6-feet away from other people when you do have to go out.
- Stay away from large gatherings.
- If you are sick, stay away from other people.
- Call before you go to any clinic, doctor’s office, or emergency room.
- If you have symptoms of COVID-19, (fever, cough, shortness of breath) call Trace Urgent Care at 662-289-9155.
