Harvard medical professor says COVID-19 ‘much worse’ in Mississippi, predicts it will get worse
Published 10:43 pm Sunday, August 2, 2020
A Harvard Medical School professor says he’s very concerned that Mississippi plans to open schools while the COVID-19 coronavirus is spreading so quickly in the state.
Dr. Ashish Jha, director of the Harvard Global Health Institute, made his opinions known Saturday on Twitter.
He studies COVID-19 numbers from every state and said he sees Mississippi headed in the wrong direction.
“One state doing VERY badly but has received little attention is Mississippi,” Jha wrote. “MS has the 2nd highest # of new cases / capita, just behind Florida — but MS is going up while FL is slowly inching down.
“But the story here is much worse.”
Jha wrote that he’s very worried about the high number of Mississipi tests that are coming back positive, citing that the numbers of tests being administered is down, but the numbers of positives tests is up.
“So that means test positivity is up,” Jha wrote. “Way up. Actually highest in the nation at 22%.”
“Mississippi will become nation’s #1 in new cases/pop, Already #1 on test +”
Jha said the problem is “much of Mississippi remains open — bars, restaurants are open with only modest limits.
“Many schools are struggling to figure out how to open soon,” he wrote. “Can’t open schools now. They’ll just shut down.”
“If MS wants kids in school, recipe known: Stop indoor dining/bars/gyms; Statewide masking; Fix testing,” he wrote. “Then, maybe, kids can go to school safely.”