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& #39;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& #39;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& #39;t Mississippi releasing its demographic data? Other states, like North Carolina, are publishing that data online. #by-race/ethnicity">https://www.ncdhhs.gov/divisions/public-health/covid19/covid-19-nc-case-count #by-race/ethnicity">https://www.ncdhhs.gov/divisions...

Mississippi officials have been boasting about how robustly we& #39;ve been testing in the Magnolia State. If you have so much useful data, why not share it? Didn& #39;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& #39;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/">https://www.clarionledger.com/story/new...

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/">https://www.clarionledger.com/story/new...