RALEIGH, MS – As coronavirus begins to spread throughout the Pine Belt area, five cases were confirmed at the Mississippi Care Center in Raleigh on Tuesday. Following this announcement, an emergency meeting of the Smith County Board of Supervisors was called at the courthouse in Raleigh with county department heads, mayors, and chiefs of police from the county’s three major municipalities in attendance.
 
Smith County EMA Director Heather Easterling updated the board on the status of the situation at the nursing home. She informed the board that this is a serious situation and is not to be taken lightly. The nursing home had already established many precautions to limit the spread of COVID-19, but Mrs. Easterling advised that the Board needed to take further action. Following this advice, the Board of Supervisors, in conjunction with the mayors of Mize, Raleigh, and Taylorsville, passed a emergency order with several new restrictions. These include:
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• Mandatory curfew from 11:00PM to 5:00AM. Violating the curfew will result in a fine up to $1,000.
• All county offices will be switching to call-only service. In-person visits must be made by appointment and will be dependent on a short screening process. You can find phone numbers for county offices here on the county website.
• All restaurants doing business within Smith County shall limit all food service to drive-through, curbside pickup, or delivery ONLY.
• Essential businesses cannot have more than 10 employees, and no more than 10 customers in the building at any given time.
• Gatherings of more than 10 people are prohibited within the county, enforceable by local law enforcement.
• No person under 18 years of age is allowed in any public building.

 
These restrictions, while inconvenient, are absolutely necessary for the protection of life within Smith County. These regulations will take effect immediately and continue until 30 days from the date of passage. You can read the full emergency order below.

RALEIGH, MS - As state health officials announce Mississippi's first death from the coronavirus, the number of active cases climbs to 80 as Governor Tate Reeves announces sweeping restrictions to public schools.

Effective immediately, all Smith County Schools will be closed tentatively until April 17th, 2020. Kindergarten registration is postponed until further notice, and all events except graduation have been cancelled for the remainder of the school year. The district, realizing its role as more than just a school, will be offering to-go lunches as each of its campuses beginning March 24th-27th. The Central Office will be open on a limited schedule during this time.

Echoing other counties, the Smith County Board of Supervisors declared that a local state of emergency exists in Smith County due to the COVID-19 outbreak. This will free up administrative restrictions and ensure that Smith County's agencies can get the assistance and resources they need to combat the Coronavirus as soon as possible. Along with the State of Emergency, the Supervisors also announced new restrictions on county offices, which are as follows.

• The Board of Supervisor’s Office, Chancery Clerk Office, Circuit Clerk Office, Tax Assessor's Office and Justice Court will be open from 10:00AM - 2:00PM each weekday until April 6th.
• No more than 10 people are allowed in any county office at any time.
• If you have needs that can be met over the phone, please call rather than visit in person. Over 50% of your needs can be met with a phone call!

In Taylorsville, Mayor Kellie Phipps announced today that a local state of emergency exists and placed restrictions on visitors to City Hall to help mitigate the threat of COVID-19 to city employees. Citizens can still make payments on their water bills or speak to a city hall employee by utilizing the drive-through window during normal business hours from 8AM-5PM. The mayor also stated that Dixie Youth activities at the Taylorsville Sportsplex have been postponed until further notice aswell. She reminds all citizens of Taylorsville to be vigilant, and practice good hygiene as we all tackle the coronavirus threat together.

EMA Director Heather Easterling would like to remind Smith County residents that there are no shortage of rumors going around regarding the coronavirus. The Smith County Emergency Management Agency wants to point out that these rumors are hindering the jobs of the ones trying to help you. We are having to stop what we doing to call and verify all these rumors. Please continue to help us prevent the spread of this virus by social distancing, limiting gatherings to 10 people and washing your hands!

If you need information, please contact the Smith County Emergency Management Agency, the Mississippi Department of Health, or visit our coronavirus information page to verify this information before you post false rumors!

Together, and by sharing only the facts, we will defeat the coronavirus!

RALEIGH, MS - Officials on Thursday confirmed Smith County's first case of COVID-19. At this time, we ask that the public DO NOT PANIC. We are in close contact with the CDC, the Mississippi Department of Health and MEMA monitoring the situation.

In the meantime, we ask that you continue to take these simple preventative measures to minimize your risk of infection.

• Wash your hands frequently and thoroughly
• Avoid touching your eyes, mouth and nose
• Cover your coughs and sneezes
• Clean surfaces and objects that are touched regularly
  
• Stay home if you do become sick

Yesterday, Raleigh Mayor Bobby Boykin announced on Facebook that "effective immediately, the Town of Raleigh city hall will be closed until further notice. As the situation with the coronavirus outbreak changes by the moment, it is most important, that we protect our town employees and the residents of our community. Any utility payments may be made by placing them in the drop box however, we will not be cutting off any services due to late payments. I strongly encourage all of our residents to stay home. We must work together to protect each other during this time. As your Mayor, I will be available to respond to any need that our residents might have related to town services or personal. Rather than calling the city hall, I ask that you contact me at my personal number 601-323-1174. It’s important that we continue to be calm and smart at the same time."

We will get through this pandemic, just bare with us at this time as we work through this.
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If we can assistance you, please call Smith County EMA or Smith County Sheriff Dept.

JACKSON, MS - Today, weather officials from the National Weather Service in Jackson confirmed that a EF-2 tornado tore through Bienville National Forest on February 5th, around 3:20PM. Weather officials originally announced this tornado as a EF-U (unknown) as the damage path was inaccessible to vehicles and the weather was not sufficient to support a drone flight. You can read the full finding and summary below.

February 5th, 2020 Smith County/Shongelo Tornado

Rating: EF-2
Estimated Maximum Wind: 115 mph
Fatalities/Injuries: 0
Damage Path Length: 2.65 miles
Maximum Path Width: 1/4 mile
Approximate Start Point/Time: 4 miles NNW Raleigh - 3:20 PM
Approximate End Point/Time: 6 miles N Raleigh - 3:24 PM

The tornado starting point was confirmed by drone footage just west of Bienville National Forest Road 527. It moved northeast, snapping and uprooting multiple trees in a convergent pattern as it crossed this road. Tree damage ramped up considerably just east of this location with more considerable tree fall as the tornado crossed Bienville National Forest Road 527-D, including a high percentage of snapped softwood trees and a few snapped hardwoods. In a previously-cleared forest area to the north of this road, nearly all of the dead trees that had remained standing were snapped within and along the tornado path. The road was blocked by numerous downed trees. Footage from a drone showed a well-defined vortex pattern in the fallen trees in this vicinity. The tornado weakened as it crossed MS Highway 35 north of Shongelo Lake and Smith County Road 120, where just a few trees were uprooted. It uprooted a few more trees along Bienville National Forest Road 533, including one that blocked the roadway, before lifting.

Raleigh, Mississippi - As the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to spread throughout the United States, officials are continuing to monitor the virus at all levels of government. As of writing, there are NO cases of COVID-19 in Smith County, and there is only ONE case in the State of Mississippi. 

COVID-19 is a new respiratory virus that causes flu-like illness ranging from mild to severe, with symptoms of fever, coughing, fatigue and difficulty breathing. The CDC and Mississippi Department of Health are working to detect, contain and limit the spread of cases in the U.S. and Mississippi should they occur. Cases of COVID-19 continue to be identified in U.S. states, and in some areas, person-to-person contact has been identified. This is a rapidly changing situation that is continually being monitored by the CDC and MSDH as more cases in the U.S. are expected. The risk of infection to the general public in Mississippi remains low, but all Mississippians are advised to take health precautions to prevent the possible transmission of disease.

The Smith County Emergency Management Agency has been monitoring the current health concerns alongside the Smith County Health Department and posting updates as they receive information from the Mississippi State Department of Health and MEMA concerning necessary precautions and anything else that will affect the daily routine of the residents of Smith County.
Smith County has been making plans the last few weeks and making sure our responders are prepared to respond and assist our citizens.
We would like to remind everyone that there are steps you can take to protect yourself

• Clean your hands often
• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds especially after you have been in a public place, or after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing.
• If soap and water are not readily available, use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol. Cover all surfaces of your hands and rub them together until they feel dry.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
• Avoid close contact with people who are sick.

Put distance between yourself and other people if COVID-19 is spreading in your community. This is especially important for people who are at higher risk of getting very sick.
It is important to remember that panic and fear does not replace facts and science. We have set up a web-page where you can get all of the latest information from federal, state, and county officials regarding coronavirus.

The webpage can be found at:
www.visitsmithcountyms.org/coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak.html