Jackson Free Press

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves plans to update his regulations around social gatherings during the coronavirus pandemic later this week as virus cases continue to surge.

“In the meantime the best tool is the same: wear a mask. Avoid crowds. Be smart. Protect loved ones,” he wrote in a Tweet Monday.

Reeves' current executive order places mask mandates in 54 out of 82 Mississippi counties and restricts gatherings to no more than 20 people indoors and 100 people outdoors when social distancing isn't possible. It is set to expire Friday.

Reeves asked in his tweet that residents be “extra cautious and mindful" and take their safety and others' into consideration when making decisions.

The state health officer, Dr. Thomas Dobbs, said Mississippi is seeing a “Thanksgiving surge” in virus cases, with numbers rising rapidly in recent days. Dobbs also said Monday that the FDA is reviewing a COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday, and he hopes Mississippi will receive about 25,000 doses of the vaccine for health care workers by next week.

The state Health Department said Monday that Mississippi, with a population of about 3 million, has reported more than 166,000 coronavirus cases and at least 3,961 deaths from COVID-19 as of Sunday evening. That’s an increase of 1,263 cases and zero deaths from numbers reported the day before.