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“So me being old enough to see how the youth were coming out when the city was investing and what the youth are looking like right now when the city is not investing, it’s not good.”
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—James Paige, Ward 2 candidate
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Don’t Lose Hope: State Epidemiologist Dr. Paul Byers on COVID-19 by Nick Judin File photo by Nick Judin
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r. Paul Byers is one of the leading epidemiologists in Mississippi and a key figure in the publichealth response to COVID19, including an expansive testing and tracing regime intended to prevent community transmission of the virus and identify clusters where it spreads. Byers sat down with the Jackson Free Press on Nov. 4 to discuss the Mississippi State Department of Health’s approach to the crisis, now in the early stages of a third spike that extends far beyond the borders of the Magnolia State. Only one day after the interview, MSDH announced 1,612 new cases of COVID-19 in a single day, an ominous reminder that the worst days of the pandemic may still be ahead.
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PB: Certainly, we’ve seen that sort of phenomenon with the flu in past seasons. When you get more folks indoors, in a closed setting, and more people are interacting with each other—we have a tendency at holidays to interact with people who are outside of our nuclear family, that we don’t normally see on a routine basis. Historically, we’ve seen flu transmit that way. There’s a good possibility that we’re going to see COVID be transmitted that way as well. But you know, there’s so much else that goes into it. And for sure, one of the big things is physical distancing: staying away from each other, doing things safely, making sure that you’re wearing a mask and that you’re being conscious— aware of where you are and where people are in proximity to you. (You have to) really act as if anybody around you
may have COVID. I think we have seen a spike here. Certainly it hasn’t approached what we saw over the summer. It hasn’t approached what we’ve seen in some of the other states as well. We don’t know if it’s going to level off, or if we’re going to continue to see a climb, but I tell you that one of the things that we worry about as we move into the fall months, the cooler times, the holidays
is are we going to see a bigger spike? There’s going to be cases, but the thing we really worry is the impact on deaths and hospital capacity. What are you hearing and seeing from hospitals and clinics? Usually, we look out for syndromic surveillance ahead of hospital spikes. How is that looking right now?
Our syndromic surveillance is actually holding steady. We haven’t seen any big increases in that. One of the big things that we look at from our syndromic surveillance is emergency department data. And we just haven’t had a big spike in that surveillance like we saw over the summer. When we look at hospital capacity, our numbers are increased for folks who are currently hospitalized, in the ICU, or on a
Things We Are Grateful For this Year
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ach year, countless people across the nation reflect on what they are thankful to have in their lives, whether it be online as part of a social-media trend or around the dinner table on Thanksgiving day. We at the Jackson Free Press are thankful for our readership. We appreciate every single one of you, and it is through your continual support that we have continued to prosper this year despite the setbacks the pandemic has wrought. In short, thank you. Now, glance at some of the other things we Jacksonians have to be thankful for this year. • The food that graces our tables, even during the tough times • The people deciding to continue democracy in this state and nation • The love and appreciation that we share for the metro, our home Tweet us at @jxnfreepress to let us know what you’re thankful for in 2020.
Photo by Kiy Turk on Unsplash
November 11 - 24, 2020 • jfp.ms
NJ: We’re seeing a nationwide rise in COVID-19 numbers. We have all been worried that this will be the result of colder weather, of gatherings moving inside. Mississippi is not seeing the catastrophic spike some northern states are seeing. What explains this? Climate? (Note: In the days since this interview, the seven-day average of cases has spiked from 665 to 947, the highest rate since early August.)
Dr. Paul Byers (right), one of Mississippi’s top epidemiologists, sat down with the Jackson Free Press to shed light on the challenges of tracing the virus now that it has so thoroughly spread through the state.
