Mississippi Edition

The Governor expresses concern during the shelter in place period, and the State Epidemiologist says African Americans are disproportionately affected by the coronavirus.

Plus, part two of our conversation with COVID patient JJ Plummer.

Then, after a southern remedy health minute, college campuses are mostly empty. But those with no where else to go remain. A conversation with an international student in Mississippi.

Segment 1:

Governor Tate Reeves is expressing concern over Mississippians mental health and well-being during this period of social distancing. During a press conference yesterday, Reeves explained the emotional stress distancing can cause an already vulnerable population, and encouraged Mississippians to be good friends and neighbors to those in need.

The shelter-in-place order remains active until April 20th, and is designed to help flatten the curve of coronavirus cases and deaths in Mississippi. The Mississippi Department of Health has not released statistics showing the race of people who have tested positive or died from the new coronavirus. But, State Epidemiologist Dr. Paul Byers says he thinks African Americans have been disproportionately affected in the state, as they have been in some other places.  And as MPB’s Alexandra Watts reports, In Mississippi, health disparities and poverty are some of the contributing factors to the high rate.

Segment 2:

J.J. Plummer, Jackson metro resident and Head Coach of the Richland Ranger football team, didn't think much of the lunch he shared with his son at the Jackson airport before the younger Plummer left for military training in early March. It was Spring Break and the airport was crowded. Days later he felt the first symptoms of what would turn out to be COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. In Part Two of his conversation with MPB's Michael Guidry, Plummer discusses his isolation, and urges fellow Mississippians to learn from his experience.

Segment 3:

Southern Remedy Health Minute

Segment 4:

Philippe Schicker is a student from Hamburg, Germany who, after a stop at a community college in California, enrolled at Mississippi State University in the fall. When most of his classmates were instructed to remain away following spring break as a distancing precaution to slow the spread of the coronavirus, Philippe found himself stuck in Starkville, thousands of miles away from home amidst a global pandemic. He shares his experience with us.