A quick thread about press conferences and public information in Mississippi right now. First off, props to @tatereeves to holding near daily press briefings and then spending 30 to 40 minutes answering questions from reporters. And thanks to the officials from @MSEMA, @msdh,

and @nationalguardms for answering questions, too. At today's presser, two especially interesting developments:
1. Three employees of the state prisons system have tested positive for coronavirus.
2. Black Mississippians are disproportionately affected by the coronavirus.

If we hadn't directly asked about these two points at the press conference, Mississippians would still be in the dark about this information. @AlissaZhu has asked @MS_MDOC whether any employees had tested positive — and THEY REFUSED TO ANSWER. Why does it have to come from the

governor at a press conference? Have families of inmates or guards been notified about these infections? Not to my knowledge. And why isn't Mississippi releasing its demographic data? Other states, like North Carolina, are publishing that data online. https://www.ncdhhs.gov/divisions/public-health/covid19/covid-19-nc-case-count#by-race/ethnicity

Mississippi officials have been boasting about how robustly we've been testing in the Magnolia State. If you have so much useful data, why not share it? Didn't Ronald Reagan once say, "Trust, but verify?" Again, I am glad some public officials are answering these questions.

But this is all information that our government should be sharing out on its own during a pandemic. Here's more information on the MDOC employees: https://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/2020/04/06/two-mississippi-prison-system-employees-test-positive-coronavirus/5117825002/

And more information on African Americans in Mississippi being disproportionately affected by the virus: https://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/politics/2020/04/06/mississippi-coronavirus-african-americans-disproportionately-affected/2953480001/