“On June 1, there will be no more closures,” Reeves said. “There will still be health and safety guidelines—but our Safer at Home order will expire, and Mississippi will be open for business. We must do everything in our power to prevent economic catastrophe. That means trusting you to protect your family, while allowing Mississippians to earn a living.”
With the new order, movie theaters, bowling alleys, indoor amusement places, libraries, and museums will be able to reopen. A new ‘Safe Return’ order will be in effect for two weeks, with certain protocols for all businesses.
Those in the vulnerable population are instructed to continue sheltering in place. This includes all elderly individuals (age 65 or older) and individuals with serious underlying health conditions, including high blood pressure, chronic lung disease, diabetes, obesity, asthma, and those whose immune systems are compromised as such by chemotherapy for cancer or any other condition requiring such therapy.
“We are facing two ongoing emergencies. One is the public health crisis that we have been up here every day to talk about. That threat is real, dangerous, and deadly. It is here, and we must face it,” Reeves added. “We also face an economic crisis in this country, the likes of which we have not seen since the great depression. While we have never seen a spike of serious cases in Mississippi, we have seen economic catastrophe. We have to address both.”
Large group gatherings will be limited to 20 people indoors and 50 people outdoors, when social distancing is not possible. When social distancing is possible, those numbers increase to 50 and 100, respectively.
The guidelines for retail, restaurants, bars, salons, barber shops, gyms, and tattoo parlors resume. But restaurants will be allowed to host live music performances and bars that don’t serve food are allowed to reopen.