COVID cases ballooning in schools
Not even one month into the new school term and there have been over 100 confirmed cases of COVID-19 among students throughout public and private schools in Madison County, according to the Mississippi State Department of Health.
St. Andrew’s Episcopal School reported 72 students and 13 teachers/staff quarantined. They have had 18 positive cases among students since Jan. 1, along with six positive cases among faculty and staff.
Madison-Ridgeland Academy had another 40 students quarantined last week, and have reported 11 positive cases among students since the start of the year.
Madison Middle School has had 16 positive cases, with another 24 quarantines last week.
Germantown High School, which had to transition to virtual learning before Christmas, has had 21 positive cases since Jan. 1. Another 32 students were quarantined last week.
Over 250 students in Madison County were quarantined the week of Jan. 18-22, according to MSDH.
Over 10,000 Madison countians have now received the COVID-19 vaccine, a 30 percent increase in one week, according to the Mississippi State Department of Health.
The vaccine began being distributed here two weeks at the Madison County Health Department in Canton and the site remains an active site, according to MSDH.
Residents should continue to monitor the state’s website to make appointments.
The state of Mississippi is currently giving COVID19 immunizations for the following:
• All healthcare workers and EMT/paramedics
• Persons age 65 or older or those with pre-existing conditions.
Sign up online at covidvaccine.umc.edu or call 1-877-978-6453. The website is the best option, officials have said.
As vaccines become available, appointment times will be updated on the website, officials said.
When you arrive for a testing appointment, expect vaccination and related paperwork to take about 10 minutes. They also have a 15-minute observation period after vaccination.
The Madison County Health Department is located at 309 N Hickory St, Canton, MS 39046.
The vaccine is also available at Baptist Medical Group located at 2173 Main Street in Madison, according to the Mississippi State Department of Health. However, as of this week they had run of their current supply.
The number of deaths in Madison County continue to increase as another seven were reported in the last week, bringing the total here to 173.
New cases remain steady in Madison County following weeks of decline.
In the last week, 401 new cases have been reported.
The total number of cases in Madison County now stands at 8,736.
Madison County remains under a mandatory mask ordinance issued by Gov. Tate Reeves until Feb. 3, 2021. Reeves extended the ordinance on Friday after it was set to expire.
On Wednesday, the MSDH identified 2,074 new cases of COVID-19 across the state with 65 new deaths.
In total, 268,672 cases have been reported across the state with 5,917 deaths.