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Friday, March 29, 2024

WCBI NEWS AT TEN - AUGUST 19, 2020

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WCBI NEWS AT TEN - AUGUST 19, 2020
WCBI NEWS AT TEN - AUGUST 19, 2020
WCBI NEWS AT TEN - AUGUST 19, 2020

The governor saying today that the state's positivity rate for testing is still too high// meanwhile, fewer people have been getting tested// courtney ann jackson asked state leaders about the decline in testing today// this chart from johns hopkins university shows the testing trends.

The lighter orange lines are the daily total of tests given.

You can see a drop in recent weeks.

Governor reeves says it's not necessarily a bad thing.

Gov.: "total testing numbers are driven as much by demand as anything else.

And if individuals aren't feeling sick, they're not going to their local doctor.

And they're not getting tested."

Dr. dobbs says testing is an important factor but... dr. thomas dobbs: "there's no amount of testing that's going to compensate for dangerous behaviors.

It's just absolutely impossible because you can expose yourself every single day.

We can't test every single mississippian every day."

Mea clinics recently expanded testing to another location--including a rapid test option---and plan to add testing at more locations by september 1.

Because of added availability---they'r e seeing increased demand.

Dr. amy hollman, mea medical clinics: "i would anticipate with everybody being out there, going back to school, sporting events that are happening, that type thing, you would anticipate, right, that more people will be exposed and more people will be tested over the next few weeks."

They're also trying to be mindful of resources as they expand testing options.

"so, we don't know what the future holds.

Right now, we are counting daily what we have and trying to anticipate.

We are sanitizing n95s appropriately according to state health department guidelines and using those only appropriately as many times as they are to be used and then discarded.

But we anticipate that there's going to be a shortage and limitations based on ppe also."

Testing numbers could also see an uptick with initiatives to expand testing for teachers and another push for regular testing in long term care facilities.

The department of health plans to have a testing event in choctaw the next three days where they'll have rapid testing, contact tracers and other resources readily available.

Dr. dobbs says he hopes they'll be able to continue trying that approach in an effort to suppress hotspots.

Developing stinger the mississippi university for women says four students in the nursing program test positive for coronavirus// the junior class is shifting to remote learning for the next two weeks// the university says the four students were asymptomatic// it's not believed there's internal spread happening on campus but the university isn't taking any chances// on top of the four positive cases, 71 other students are also under quarantine for 14 days// state health officer doctor thomas dobbs says the state health department is investigating the outbreak at the w.

"we are investigating two outbreaks.

One at ole miss and one at the mississippi university for women.

The one at the w has some trace back to the cotton district in starkville.

Not a big surprise right?

We know when people socialize and get in groups, concentrated, not wearing masks, they're absolutely going to spread coronavirus."

The w has a covid- 19 case tracker on it's website// doctor dobbs did praise the universities for taking an aggressive approach in an effort to get a handle on the crisis// the number of new covid-19 cases in mississippi skyrockets today.

State health officials report one thousand 348 new cases today, along with 36 deaths.

Nearly 11 hundred people are hospitalized with confirmed or suspected coronavirus symptoms. 284 patients remain in i.c.u.

And 163 of them are on a ventilator.

In our region, lee county continues to see the most new cases with 64 today.

Monroe has 25, lafayette 21, pontotoc has 18 and webster has 17.

For all you do, this pie's for you.

Free pizza today for workers at baptist memorial hospital in columbus.

The men of omega psi phi ordered take out.

One hundred pizzas delivered to the fraternity at the emergency room entrance.

The members then handed out pizzas to nurses, doctors and hospital employees as a thank you for the work they do.

First look stinger first look wednesday night: a few early evening showers are possible otherwise expect a pretty quiet evening and night with partly cloudy skies.

Lows should dip back into the mid to upper 60s.

Winds remain light from the north.

Thursday-friday: variably cloudy, warm, and humid.

Highs in the upper 80s to around 90.

Scattered showers and storms are possible each day with the chance of vo in monitor classes start monday for starkville students// teachers and staff at sudduth elementary are spending time cleaning and sanitizing ahead of the back to school rush// our cash matlock reports// for faculty and staff at sudduth elementary, work will begin more than an hour before students arrive.

Each employee is tasked with cleaning a certain area.

"everyone's responsibility this year is to keep the school clean."

"each day our custodians will go through and sanitize the common areas, and then before the students arrive into the classrooms, the teachers will sanitize the classrooms in the morning before the students arrive."

But the cleaning doesn't stop after the bell rings.

"this is going to be like all day, every day, three times a day."

Benjamin randle has been the head custodian at sudduth for 6 years.

He says the most challenging part will be cleaning behind people as they enter the building throughout the day.

"handbars, doorknobs, keeping the bathrooms sanitized four times a day."

Each grade is assigned a certain entrance.

And each entrance has a sanitization station.

------ "when students with the starkville oktibbeha school district get to class, they'll actually pass by this thermal face scanner, which can read their temperature and detect if they're wearing their mask correctly."

------ "these are touchless hand sanitizing stations... that can be used each time they enter the building and in the classrooms while they are sanitzing their hands."

----- sudduth has 6 custodians on staff, but the responsibility of disinfecting the campus doesn't rest on their shoulders alone.

"each classroom is getting, or has, a bucket of wipes that are much like clorox wipes or lysol wipes, but they are filled with a hospital grade sanitizer and disinfectant that they'll be using throughout the day."

"we will wipe down all the desks and any supplies like manipulatives that the kids would use and we do that throughout the day and then of course at the end of the day, a sweep of all the class rooms sanitizing and spray as well."

This school year may be different than before, but faculty and staff members are staying positive.

"sudduth elementary is a safe place to come, and we want our students and our families, and our community to know that."

Vo in monitor the hand sanitizer they use is a special non- alcoholic formula that's safe for children who may frequently put their hands in their mouth.

They say they're also swapping out their water fountains with water bottle fillers.

Stinger 2-shot wx open summary: scattered showers and storms are likely thursday, friday, and perhaps into saturday as an upper level disturbance drifts through the region.

Rain chances will lower a bit by sunday but return early next week.

We're still monitoring 2 tropical disturbances in the atlantic basin that could impact parts of the southeast sometime next week.

Wednesday night: a few early evening showers are possible otherwise expect a pretty quiet evening and night with partly cloudy skies.

Lows should dip back into the mid to upper 60s.

Winds remain light from the north.

Thursday-friday: variably cloudy, warm, and humid.

Highs in the upper 80s to around 90.

Scattered showers and storms are possible each day with the chance of rain about 60%.

Activity that develops should gradually weaken during the evening hours.

Lows remain in the upper 60s.

Saturday: partly cloudy with a 40% chance of showers and storms. highs in the upper 80s to around 90.

Sunday: sun & clouds.

An isolated shower or storm can't be totally ruled out but rain chances are 20% or less.

Highs climb back into the low 90s.

Early next week: seasonably warm and humid conditions with highs in the low 90s and a daily 30% chance of passing showers and storms. lows in the lower 70s.

Tropics: there are two items of interest that are being watched.

One is moving through the caribbean sea and another one is out in the atlantic.

Both features are drifting back to the wnw and have a good chance of development over the coming days.

Some impacts are possible across the southeast by early next week.

If nothing else they may transport a lot of moisture in our region even if they don't develop into a named storm.

Follow @wcbiweather on facebook, twitter, instagram, and the wcbi news app the mississippi business journal has named northeast mississippi community college as one of the top colleges in the state// that honor follows a recent recognition as the top school in mississippi for online education, from "online colleges dot com.

Last year, the mississippi business journal named n-e-m-c-c the healthiest workplace in the state among colleges and universities// nemcc president doctor ricky ford says credit must go to the employees// "you've got to give recognition and ask, what causes this, and we look at our employees and great group of employees we have are responsible for this recognition because they provide such a high quality of instruction to our students, they provide the mentorship and the guidance and leadership to all of our students that come into northeast."

Campus labs recently named nemcc as one of two educational institutions in the country as a "campus labs trailblazer" award honoree.

Stinger when we come back, we visit with doctor rosenblatt in our health talk with baptist// stay there are a few vaccines that adults need to make sure they get to help fight against some illnesses and diseases// here's doctor rosenblatt with tonights health talk with baptist// no script onight id like to talk about some specific vaccinations that adults need to receive in order to protect them from commed diseases and illnesses.

Es.

Shingles is a painful rash that usually develops on one side of the body some people describe the pain as intense burning sensation your risk increases as you age cdc recommends the vaccine joins us next time stinger only two stops to go on the high school football tour...see the preview with starkville, next in sports spx tupelo this morning t-c-p-s head football coach shaune holiday announcing on twitter that assitant football and track coach rob barnes has died due to covid- 19 barnes was well known in the tupelo area for training young athletes for over 20 years, specifically working on speed barnes had been battling covid-19 for two weeks before succumbing to the virus...he was 65 years old tcps head football coach shaune holiday talked about coach barnes' legacy..

"rob was a father figure.

He was a motivator.

He was a mentor.

Coach rob was so much more than a coach for me and for these young men out here.

A lot of these kids haven't really dealt with loss before.

Then to lose someone who meant so much to you like coach rob, who you saw everyday at practice and you did different things with on the weekend during football season, it's been a really tough day.

But the guys knew that coach rob would want them to keep going so that's been the mentality for the day."

A candlelight vigil will be held in barnes honor friday at 8 pm at robins field in tupelo we're nearing the end of the high school football tour with stop number 59....the starkville yellow jackets.

After falling one win short of a state title game appearnace, head coach chris jones and the swarm enter 2020 ready to sting all opponents in sight.

The starkville yellow jackets enter the 2020 campaign looking to play hard and sting harder!

Last season, starkville fell one game short of the 6a state championship game after losing to rival oxford in the north half final.

Now the team has one word in mind!

"finishing.

Everyday we're trying to preach and make sure that we finish.

Finishing our drills.

Finishing team stuff.

Just on a day-to-day grind making sure we understand the importance of finishing."

"you got to finish strong.

We always get to the playoffs and fall short.

You got to play all 4 quarters.

You can't just play the first and second quarters.

You got to play all four."

The yellow jackets lose key playmakers from both sides of the ball including the team's interception leader khiry gee and endzone offensive player of the year and mississippi state bulldog rufus harvey!

But this is starkville.

Head coach chris jones is excited for the guys he has now to step up and showcase what they can do.

"a lot of the kids got lost i want to say cause we didn't have a spring so we have some kids that are under the radar that can really play.

They just need the opportunity right now."

"a lot of the young guys from last year are really stepping up.

We've worked really hard this summer.

Even before school got out, we were making sure to always work hard.

These guys have been around this system for awhile and i think we're going to shock a lot of people with the weapons we have."

But starkville does return some known faces who will have a strong say in how far this team goes.

Returning tackles and sacks leader keyshawn lawerence leads a stingy defense and florida state commit, quarterback luke altmeyer calls the shots on o.

However, jones says it's going to take more than one player to reach their ultimate goal.

"he should do a good job.

He got a great supporting cast.

He got kids around him that can play.

I think he understands more so now than ever that it takes all eleven.

I can play, but i need all eleven guys on board.

I think he understands as a quarterback i need everybody on board i have to use all my pieces.

At the end of the day, i can't do it by myself."

"you learn a lot as you play and get more reps.

I've had a lot of reps through my career.

I've been here for four years now.

I've learned a lot and i'm ready to be the best i can be."

The jackets have embraced the tradition of a program that's won six state titles and hope this season is the one where they create their own legacy.

"we have to do

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