There is plenty of bad news in a time like this. I want to share a bit good news. Mississippi scientists and health care workers have stepped up big time. They have been deploying a lot of tests, and our state is punching way above our weight. The numbers may shock you.
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Mississippi has done 16,662 total tests. We have 1,177 cases. Our population is a little less than three million.

VA has done 15,344 tests. Their population is nearly triple ours. KY has about 1.5 million more residents than we do. We’ve more than doubled their number of tests. Every state is working hard—so no knock against them—but MS is outpacing the national average by quite a lot.

Everyone has hailed South Korea for their robust testing. They tested about 5,200 of their citizens per every million. We have now exceeded that metric in Mississippi. We’re at more than 5,500 tests per million residents.

Mississippi’s testing infrastructure has been exceptional. Now remember, everyone is at different points in the cycle. In Mississippi, the total damage from this virus is going to get worse before it gets better.

We have a population that is very susceptible to this virus. Keep that in mind. We have issued a shelter-in-place because we think we are close to hitting the worst weeks of this soon. Stay home. Stay safe.

This is just the beginning. We are going to further ramp up testing as part of our “Identify and Isolate” model—based in large part on the success of South Korea. It’s possible because Mississippi innovators have stepped up. All credit to them.

I share this just to brag on the Mississippi health care workers and scientists who are leading the effort behind the scenes to give us information that helps us protect people better.

I’m inspired by the work of our hospitals and labs to get more tests out to the public and completed. That data has driven our decisions, and I’m very proud of how much they’ve been able to do.

People like to talk down Mississippi or turn us into a caricature. Mississippi is stepping up to fight this disease and our scientists are leading the way.