WCBI News at Ten - Thursday, July 9th, 2020

WCBI News at Ten - Thursday, July 9th, 2020

Leaders of mississippi's medical community are coming together for a request// thanks for joining us at nine// this wasn't a call to action to state leaders// it was a call to action to all of us---the public// and as courtney ann jackson explains, the picture they painted of the current hospital capacity was serious// you've heard the warnings for months.

But these doctors want you to understand the it's no longer predictions-rather reality "we kind of saw a storm off in the distance a bit.

As of today, we feel like we are right in the eye of the storm."

"right now, the diagnosis is, our state is sick and what we're doing now it's not working."

This group says they've watched the trends with cases and deaths going up.

And they're living the reality of what it's like to have increased hospitalizations.

"although covid-19 is in the forefront of everyone's mind right now, other diseases have not taken a backseat during this pandemic."

"i was woken up by a phone call yesterday morning at 4 am because we had so many patients at our hospital, we didn't know where else to put them."

"there's nowhere to send them.

We're sending people out of state all the time because mississippi hospitals cannot take care of mississippi patients."

And it's not an isolated issue.

"yesterday, five of our biggest hospitals in the state had zero icu beds.

Zero.

An additional four for some added context here---the university of mississippi medical center has already had to start turning down transfers// that includes covid-19 patients but also others// and that's significant because they are the state's only level one trauma center// let's take a look at today's covid-19 numbers in the magnolia state// the mississippi state department of health reports 703 new cases today// 16 more mississippians died from covid-19, as the state death toll tops 12 hundred// based on presumed recovered numbers provided by msdh, there are about ten thousand two hundred active cases in mississippi// 939 people are in hospitals across the state.

Over one hundred of those patients are on ventilators.// 71 percent of coronavirus cases do not require hospitalization// lee, oktibbeha, and lowndes counties have the highest infection rate in the viewing area with over 500 cases// thirteen mississippi counties now have mask mandates.

Hinds, rankin and madison are under the mandate, as is desoto county.

Harrison, jackson, washington, wayne , quitman, jefferson and claiborne counties are on the list.

The mandate also extends to sunflower and grenada counties.

The governor says he can include other counties if the need arises.

Roll vo in monitor its been a challenging year for restaurant owners across the country..

Covid 19 placing them in uncharted territory..

Wcbi's bobby martinez talked to owners at restaurant tyler and the little dooey in starkville about lessons covid19 has taught them about the restaurant business.

Pkg it's been a year of adjustments for restaurants owners across the country due to covid-19.

And while this pandemic has presented them with difficult challenges..

There also have been lessons learned... "staying humble."

"we're just kind of rolling with the punches."

It has been a slow grind this year for restaurant owners here in mississippi.

Bart wood, owner of the little dooey in starkville..

Has been in business for 35 years... and says covid19 continues to teach him lessons.

Cg -bart wood - owner - the little dooey - starkville "from different regulations from different this and that.

Just being humble, thankful is what we've learned and has helped us to serve our customers inside outside however we have to do it."

Wood says one thing that has helped during this tough time..

Is the community support... "our clientele has literally been our rescue during this thing.

Because you know we are not set up here to do outside curbside but we are now we still have our signs up now.

We will continue that on once this is over but we've had to learn how to do a lot of things new."

At restaurant tyler... owner ty thames says never losing sight of providing the best customer service possible.

Is a critical lesson he has learned... sot - ty thames - chef/owner - restaurant tyler - starkville "every day is like you know how it's evolving and changing, we are just rolling with the punches as things come on and we are just doing everything we can to provide the safest environment possible."

Thames has also relied on technology to help speed up the ordering process..

And limit interaction between the customer and employee..

"so can you talk to me about how this qr code actually really works.

Sure so basically what you're going to do is you're going to pull your camera out on your phone you put the camera out like you're going to take a picture of the qr code.

On the top of your phone the tab will come up, you push that and it directs you right to the menu super easy and really user- friendly."

Reporting in starkville bobby martinez wcbi news..

Centered both owners also say social media has played a major role in working to provide their customers the same personal experience they are used to having in the dining room.

Top video production companies even feeling the impact of covid-19// typically, summer is prime time for weddings and tupelo based premium productions has a full calendar helping couples celebrate their special day// but most weddings have been postponed because of the coronavirus// however, the video production company was contacted by aberdeen high school about videotaping its graduation ceremonies, and that led to similar jobs across the region// it has been a sharp learning curve for the owner and his crew, as ceremonies require social distancing// also, ceremonies for larger schools took several days to complete// "where a graduation would have normally taken an hour and a half and you're out of there, we were on location for six, seven hours, time to allow for one student to walk across the stage, four to six family members, so that turned into a whole day event, and that's a lot of data to go through, for those completed presentations, but that's what we do, that's the type of service we provide."

Premium premium productions has videotaped a few weddings this summer, but with very limited seating and no receptions// the company is hoping to have more weddings on the books next summer, along with more high school graduations for the class of 2021// the u-s set another daily record for new coronavirus cases wednesday, recording nearly 60-thousand infections// texas, florida, arizona and california remain the country's hotspots and on the white house coronavirus task force "red zone" scale// and today, at least two governors imposed new mandates to help control the rising number of cases in their states.

Chris martinez has the latest from los angeles.// arizona's governor is tightening restrictions in his state as coronavirus cases explode there.

Today there's a new executive order that will limit indoor dining to less than 50- percent occupancy.

The state is also expanding its testing capacity you are safer at home in arizona.

Florida reported its biggest 24-hour jump in covid-19 deaths and hospitalizations.

The governor says he is bringing hundreds more nurses into the health care system to help manage the patient load.

We're gonna be sending more hundreds to be able to help with those efforts.

Texas has suspended most elective surgeries as covid patients fill hospital beds.

We're getting many patients on a daily basis // families, complete families coming in sick.

California also reported its single highest covid death toll wednesday.

Here in los angeles, the mayor says he may need to re-impose a "stay at home" order if the number of cases and hospitalizations don't come down.

There are still too many social gatherings, maybe too many pool parties this weekend, too many playdates, too many family barbecues.

Kentucky became the latest state to mandate people wear face covering in public places.

Put one of these on and protect your fellow human beings.

And starting wednesday, starbucks customers must wear masks inside all of the company's u-s cafes.

Chris martinez, cbs news, los angeles.

Today new york city cancelled all large events requiring permits - like street fairs, parades, concerts and festivals - through september 30th// first look stinger first look summary: hot, humid, and occasionally stormy weather will hang around through the weekend.

Highs will be in the 90s but heat indices may surpass 105 at times.

Rain chances drop dramatically next week but the heat and humidity will only intensify as a big ridge of high pressure sets up shop.

Long story short, plan on new at ten tupelo police are investigating a fatal afternoon car crash// it happened around noon today at the corner of kincannon and lumpkin avenue// lee county coroner carolyn green says one person was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident// right now the victim's name isn't being released// stay with wcbi for updates// top highway 182 between stark road in starkville was forced to close this afternoon.

A medical helicopter was called to the scene of a construction accident.

Starkville police spokesman brandon lovelady tells wcbi the accident apparently involved a nail gun.

At this time, we still don't know how severe the injuries are.

Drivers were forced to find another route.

The road reopened shortly after 1:30... gfx off top a man is arrested in a nettleton shooting that left one person injured.

37-year-old james staples is the suspected shooter in the june 27th incident that happened on alicia circle.

The victim suffered a gunshot wound and was treated at the n-m-m-c in tupelo.

Staples fled the scene and was later arrested without incident july 7th by itawamba county deputies and the north mississippi narcotics unit.

He is facing charges of aggravated assault and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

Staples is currently awaiting bond.

State troopers are looking for an arkansas man the believe is in webster county.

The mississippi highway patrol says donta kirby of pine bluff was pulled over on highway 82, near mathiston, today.

While the trooper was conducting an investigation, mhp says kirby ran away while wearing handcuffs.

Kirby does have ties to east columbus and could be in the area and he's a convicted felon.

If you know where kirby is tonight, call 9-1-1 the monroe county sheriff's department will soon become part of the north mississippi narcotics unit.

The unit is made up of police and sheriff's departments from across the region.

The unit shares information on suspected drug traffickers and manufacturers and assists in arrests and surveillance.

Monroe county sheriff kevin crook says there are many advantages working with other agencies in the unit.

"manpower is one advantage, but intel is probably the best advantage, being able to work together on a case, follow a case that maybe starts in monroe county, ends up in prentiss county, somewhere else, it's all connected, and jim johnson was nice enough to swear our guys in early so we've already been working across county lines with lee county , while we've been waiting on this."

The state is expected to approve an inter- local agreement allowing monroe county to become part of the unit.

That approval could come by the end of this week.

Crook says his deputies have made more than 60 felony drug arrests since the beginning of the year.

Stinger please have a multimeter only to the one to make sure that we know the drill.

Your yes behind the wood tomorrow region illuminati in come in so far your ... 2-shot wx open summary: hot, humid, and occasionally stormy weather will hang around through the weekend.

Highs will be in the 90s but heat indices may surpass 105 at times.

Rain chances drop dramatically next week but the heat and humidity will only intensify as a big ridge of high pressure sets up shop.

Long story short, plan on staying in air conditioning as much as possible for the considerable future.

Thursday night: variably cloudy.

A few isolated showers and storms will remain possible.

Lows in the low to mid 70s with calm wind.

Friday: warm & humid.

Highs in the 90s with triple digit heat indices.

There is a 40% chance of scattered showers and storms during the day.

Any storm may produce locally heavy rain and lightning.

Friday night: partly cloudy and humid.

Lows in the low 70s.

A stray shower or storm remains possible.

Weekend: partly cloudy with a 40% chance of showers and storms both days.

Highs in the low to mid 90s with maximum heat indices over 105 at times.

Lows in the 70s.

Next week: partly cloudy, hot, and humid.

Rain chances drop to 10-20% or less each day.

Highs will stay in the low to mid 90s with heat indices well into the 100s.

Lows stay in the 70s.

Stay connected with @wcbiweather on facebook, twitter, instagram, and the wcbi news app it's no secret it's hot and humid here in the magnolia state.

Bud did you know, some are more vulnerable to becoming dehydrated.

We learn more in our health talk with baptist// segment 3: what can i do to prevent dehydration in my child and how much sun is safe for my baby?

Make sure your child drinks plenty of cool water and sports drinks early and often to prevent dehydration.

Send your child out to practice or play fully hydrated.

Then during the day, make sure your child takes regular breaks to drink fluids, even if the child is not thirsty.

If you child develops a heat illness, the first thing you should do is get the child out of the sun and into a cool comfortable place.

Have the child start drinking plenty of cool fluids and take off any excess layers of clothing or bulky equipment.

Kids with heat exhaustion should not be allowed back on the field the same day.

Babies under six months of age should never be exposed to the sun.

Babies older than six months should be protected from the sun and wear uv-blocking sunglasses to protect their eyes.

A broad spectrum sunscreen with a spf of at least 30 that protects against both uva and uvb rays should be the last line of defense for your child.

It should not be used to extend the amount of time you keep your child outdoors.

For a baby under one year old, sunburn should be treated as an emergency.

Call you doctor immediately.

For a child one year or older, call your doctor if there is severe pain, blistering, lethargy or fever over 101 degrees.

Join us next time for health talk with baptist.

Stinger the high school football tour is rolling right along// we check in with nettleton next in sports// "a place that i've always looked at and somewhere that could be a long term destination for me and somewhere i could put roots down."

Planting those roots is the plan for new head coach john keith as he leads the nettleton tigers into the season.

Keith has spent 6 of the last 7 years coaching at tupelo along with a playoff appearance at mooreville as the head coach in 2016.

Fast forward to 2020, keith and the team want to take the program up a notch by fixing the little things.

"there were 50/50 games and we want to try to close in on those games and have them swing our way.

If you get a couple of those, instead of a .500 year, you're looking at a year where you win 8 or 9 games.

We're working on building a mentality where we can finish those and take that next step."

"last year, we just shot ourselves in the foot, but this year, we're going to win the games we're supposed to win."

Keith has coached at both amory and mooreville so he's very familiar with the region.

He believes if they take care of business they can be in the mix for the crown.

"we can't beat ourselves.

The tigers aren't going to beat the tigers.

We just got to go week in and week out and put the work in and let that stuff sort itself out.

I feel like if we take care of what we need toare of that when the time comes, we'll be in the hunt."

Players like the culture keith and his staff have established as they prepare for the season.

"they showing us that he's here for us and that he's putting in the work as much as we're putting in the work.

That's a good thing that we want to see."

"they changed my love for the game.

I think i'm going to really enjoy it this year.

Have fun out there on the field."

It's that love and passion for the game and for the town of nettleton that's fueling the team.

"last year, we went 6-6 or 6-7.

Something like that, that was a big change.

This year we're going to make it even bigger because it really means a lot to nettleton.

Everybody came out and came together."

The tigers start the season with a home opener against bruce ausgust 21st.

Reporting in nettleton on the high school football tour.

Chris bolton wcbi sports.

Sports.

A day camp is starkville is keeping students engaged and learning during the summer break.

Wcbi's aundrea self and cash matlock were the guest speakers at "ms smith's educational services" summer camp today.

They talked to the students about news gathering and reporting.

They also quizzed them on events and topics news reporters are covering and handed out some cool wcbi gear.

The students range in age from four to 16.

Most participate in the organization's after school program.

Trust 20 if he wanted humidity through the weekend and into next week.

The worst of the weather so are the numbers for his concern did x-rays with just skilled soldiers will work the next day what