NEWS AT SIX - 12/22/2020

NEWS AT SIX - 12/22/2020

Show open the mississippi state department of health reports the highest number of covid-19 deaths in a single day.

Health officials report 79 deaths today and two thousand 191 new covid-19 cases.

The latest numbers from the department of health show one thousand 340 people are hospitalized in the state with confirmed or suspected coronavirus symptoms. 336 of those patients are in i.c.u.

More than 154 thousand people are presumed recovered from the virus in the state.

This means there are over 38 thousand presumed active cases in mississippi.

Locally, lee county has the most new cases with 132.

Lowndes county has 83, monroe has 48, itawamba has 46, and union has 45.

With the news of mississippi's highest daily death toll, health officials say the state is on track to surpass one thousand covid-19 deaths this month.

State health officer dr. thomas dobbs said in a press conference today that covid-19 is one of the leading causes of death in mississippi.

A record day that was, unfortunately, expected.

The health department is already talking with hospitals across the state about activating the crisis standard of care plan.

Basically, that means to get care patients would be triaged and as the number of nurses decreases...staffin g changes would have to be made.

Dobbs says the health care system in the state is overwhelmed now.

Health leaders expect another large surge of patients after christmas and new year's.

"we have er's that can't be er's so, people don't have access to emergency room care because they are full of covid icu patients.

We have icu beds across the state that have two persons in a bed that's made for one person.

These are things that are happening now.

Let me just be frank with you guys, it is bad and it is getting worse.

It's exactly what we anticipated.

I t's not rocket science to look at the numbers and understand the modeling of what's going to happen.

We did some modeling and predicted over the next few weeks we'll see well over 400 or even close to 600 icu patients in need of care.

Now, the challenge is that we can't take care of that many people.

So, a lot of them are not going to make it and they are not going to make it because they don't have access to care.

This isn't just covid patients, it's also non-covid patients.

It's people with heart attacks, it's strokes, it's car wrecks."

Mississippi has received more than 62 thousand vaccines for front line workers in hospitals.

Another 12 thousand will go to long-term care facilities.

Governor tate reeves issues a mask mandate for all but 4 mississippi counties.

Reeves says the 17 counties that are being added today have met the specific criteria to be placed under a mask mandate.

Right now, 78 of mississippi's 82 counties are currently under mask mandates, which encompasses the entire wcbi viewing area.

The 4 exceptions are claiborne, issaquena, sharkey, and tunica counties.

In a statement today, the governor is asking people to please remember to social distance, keep gatherings small, and wear their mask.

The executive orders that are in place are set to expire on friday, january 15th.

For a full look at the executive order, you can visit our website, wcbi-dot-com.

The pfizer's and moderna vaccine continue to be distributed to front-line healthcare workers throughout the u.s. for hospitals in rural areas, it could be days, even weeks before a vaccine arrives--leaving doctors and nurses vulnerable to coronavirus.

As our stephanie poole explains, the push to distribute doses for health care workers is crucial.

"the vaccine is going to make a huge difference in our ability to proceed forward with this pandemic."

Dr. craig moffett is a family medicine physician at maben medical clinic.

He's also in the er at north mississippi medical center- europa.

Earlier today, moffett and other health-care workers were the first in the area to get their shot.

"moderna is the one that i received this morning.

It's being sent to some of the smaller communities because it doesn't have to be stored the same way.

So, we're doing hospital staff at the moment and hopefully as things continue we'll be able to vaccinate more and more staff."

Rural areas, moffett says, are more susceptible to coronavirus.--i.c.u beds and ventilators are not available for patients in critical care, relying on other facilities for assistance.

"having a vaccine is these small communities mean everything.

I'm on staff at a small community hospital.

We've had all our c0vid beds full within the past several weeks.

Fortunately, some of the larger hospitals in jackson and tupelo will accept some of our sicker patients."

With over 1- thousand cases being reported in mississippi each day...moffett says keeping all staff healthy is vital.

" if one of our employees come down with covid with has substantial impact.

Just one nurse having covid in our community makes a difference if we can accept a patient or not.

Butt sots " if we can decrease community spread here locally, then we'll be sending less patients to the larger hospitals so they can focus more on sicker patients."

Reporting in oktibbeha county, stephanie poole, wcbi news.

Reporting in oktibbeha county, stephanie poole, wcbi news.

Dr. moffett says maben medical clinic should receive vaccination dosages within the next couple of weeks.

Wcbi swipe top this is one of columbus happiest traditions.

Members of the columbus air force base honor guard hand- delivered baskets of fruit to columbus neighborhoods this morning.

The is part of the annual "happy christmas fund".

The program is named in honor of its founder, george happy irby.

He was an employee at the columbus club at the base and saved his tip money year after year to buy gifts for the elderly and needy families.

Volunteers and local donors work each year to keep the tradition going.

Top temperatures are dropping but your electric bill may be rising.

4 county electric power association says there are different things that could cause your power bill to go up in the winter ?but?

There's also just as many tips for keeping your energy use low.

Holiday lights, cooking, and family gatherings are major causes for a rise in energy use.

The cooperative says you should pay close attention to these things during the winter to avoid a high bill.

"we know that when temperatures plummit, bills go up no matter what kind of heating source you're using, you're going to use a lot more of it because quite frankly people want to be comfortable, and they should be, we just want people to remember that when we get that really cold weather that we're expecting combined with the holidays when there's a lot of people around, you're doing more cooking, you've got lights on, all sorts of things are happening, you can probably expect to see a higher bill come january."

For more tips on how to save energy this winter, visit wcbi- dot-com.

First look stinger first look summary: a strong cold front will push across the region wednesday night.

It will give us a good chance of rain, some thunder, and windy conditions before and after it passes.

Temperatures plunge into the 30s and 40s for christmas eve and christmas day while overnight lows tumble back into the low 20s.

Wind chill temperatures look to be the 20s and 10s thursday and thursday night.

Tuesday night: mainly clear to partly cloudy.

Lows in the upper 30s to lower 40s.

Winds se 2-6 mph.

Wednesday: becoming mostly cloudy with afternoon showers developing.

Loping.

The heaviest rain will occur after sunset.

Highs should top out in the low to mid 60s.

Winds will be increasing from the se between 10 and 25 mph.

Some higher gusts are possible.

Wednesday night: widespread rain and perhaps even a few storms. there is a very low chance of some damaging wind off top three arrests are made in a bizarre monroe county homicide.

The case started with a burned car and continues as deputies search for the victim.

Tommy randolph and brian hoover are both charged with arson and murder.

Kayla johns is charged with accessory to murder.

All three made a court appearance today in monroe county justice court.

Sheriff kevin crook says deputies were called to levee road, near amory, on december 16th about the burned vehicle.

A short time later a family member of 39-year-old jack cowan reported him missing.

Investigators say randolph and hoover left a halfway house in simpson county and traveled to monroe county at the same time.

Crook did not release what connection the suspects may have had to cowan.

Cowan's body has not been found.

Hoover and johns were arrested in monroe county and randolph was arrested in birmingham.

"it's a great combination of our investigators and our narcotics agents, and our deputies.

I mean, night and day we've been working on this thing since it started on the 16th and hadn't rested until today.

We can take a breath but we are still searching right now.

We've got teams out.

Monroe county search and rescue is out helping us look and that's going to continue until we find the rest of the evidence that we need."

Bond was denied for randolph and hoover.

Bond for johns is set at one hundred thousand dollars.

Deputies say more charges are possible.

Off top macon police are asking for help finding a shooting suspect.

Debredrick jones is wanted for four counts of aggravated assault and two counts of malicious mischief.

Assistant police chief douglass triplett says the shooting happened at the mayfair apartments on december second.

No one was injured in the gunfire but two cars were damaged.

If you know where jones is tonight... call golden triangle crime stoppers or macon police.

A trespassing call turns into two meth arrests in clay county.

39 year-old nathan sinko is charged with possession of methamphetamine, trespassing, and other misdemeanor.

59 year-old steve pumphrey is charged with possession of methamphetamine and trespassing.

The mississippi department of wildlife, fisheries, and parks called clay county deputies to assist in a trespassing call on december 20th.

In an unrelated arrest, clay county deputies were asked to help state troopers on a traffic stop.

Sheriff eddie scott says 40-year-old matthew orr is charged with possession of heroin, two counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and other misdemeanors.

Orr remains in jail on a 22 thousand dollar bond.

The mississippi bureau of narcotics also assisted in the investigation.

Stinger see how small business are being impacted by covid- 19 during the holidays...more for you next.

Shop small.

That's what local business owners are encouraging as the hours count down to christmas.

And as wcbi's desmone mathews reports, finding ways to adapt is the best business plan of all.

Starkville business owner devan torrence says all things considered - her business couldn't be better this holiday season.

" i'm really thankful for the community of starkville this season because they have kept our business alive you know they've kept us...."

Torrence runs pupscouts camp and bakery.

Her company began as a pet watching service...but she says it evolved as covid-19 spread through the area.

"at the beginning of the pandemic we lost a lot of cliental and a lot of business because people were cancelling their vacations and that's our number one service.......people weren't traveling so we had to get creative with how we could still keep our business alive.

What began as a way to care for pets has expanded into a full business offering treats and pet toys.

The owners say they are grateful to the starkville community for shopping local and are now looking to pay it foward.

Next year pupscouts will began a partnership with community disaster relieve organization o- serve.

"they work really with getting people a place to stay and getting shelter and getting food.

We're going to come in at the angle to make sure their pet is staying with them and provide them with food try to get a hotel that is pet friendly that sort of thing.

Pupscouts isnt the only business thriving during the pandemic.

In columbus....the owner of cobalts botique says business is great at her shop " i will say we did facebook live sales and we were still able to serve stinger weather open summary: a strong cold front will push across the region wednesday night.

It will give us a good chance of rain, some thunder, and windy conditions before and after it passes.

Temperatures plunge into the 30s and 40s for christmas eve and christmas day while overnight lows tumble back into the low 20s.

Wind chill temperatures look to be the 20s and 10s thursday and thursday night.

Tuesday night: mainly clear to partly cloudy.

Lows in the upper 30s to lower 40s.

Winds se 2-6 mph.

Wednesday: becoming mostly cloudy with afternoon showers developing.

The heaviest rain will summary: a strong cold front will push across the region wednesday night.

It will give us a good chance of rain, some thunder, and windy conditions before and after it passes.

Temperatures plunge into the 30s and 40s for christmas eve and christmas day while overnight lows tumble back into the low 20s.

Wind chill temperatures look to be the 20s and 10s thursday and thursday night.

Tuesday night: mainly clear to partly cloudy.

Lows in the upper 30s to lower 40s.

Winds se 2-6 mph.

Wednesday: becoming mostly cloudy with afternoon showers developing.

The heaviest rain will occur after sunset.

Highs should top out in the low to mid 60s.

Winds will be increasing from the se between 10 and 25 mph.

Some higher gusts are possible.

Wednesday night: widespread rain and perhaps even a few storms. there is a very low chance of some damaging wind gusts but the overall severe threat is not too great with this setup.

Rainfall totals may add up between 1/2?

And 2?.

Gusty winds can be expected all night.

Lows in the mid 30s by sunrise.

Thursday: variably cloudy, blustery, and much colder.

Afternoon temperatures struggling into the low 40s.

Winds nw 10-25 mph with gusts over 30 possible.

Wind chill values low 30s and 20s.

Thursday night: partly cloudy and cold.

Lows in the low 20s with some colder wind chill values in the 10s.

Santa should have good visibility as he makes his way into our region this year.

Christmas day: sunny and cold.

Highs in the upper 30s to lower 40s.

Friday night: clear and cold.

Lows in the low 20s.

Saturday: abundant sunshine.

Highs around 50.

Saturday night: mostly clear.

Lows near 30.

Sunday: increasing clouds.

Some late day and evening rain is possible.

Highs in the mid to upper 50s.

Follow @wcbiweather on facebook, twitter, instagram, and the wcbi news app stinger mississippi state's youth got recognized... next in sports the trio named to the freshman all-sec team ???take monitor gfx???

One of the main storylines for this year's mississippi state football season has been youth... down the stretch some of the young guys showed a lot of promise... and sec coaches took notice... receiver jaden walley... left tackle charles cross and defensive back emmanuel forbes were all named to the freshman all- sec team by league coaches... walley's 691 yards is a msu freshman record... and emmaunel forbes ended his first sec season in style intercepting two passes in the win against missouri including one that went 29 yards back to the house that iced the game... well deserved accolades for the trio... saturday's loss to l-s-u was another game the ole miss rebels felt they had... of their five losses this season..

Four of them were one score games in the fourth quarter... last week they were down five late with the ball and fell to the tigers 53-48... another turnover ridden game for quarterback matt corral... he threw five interceptions and it actually isn't the most picks he's thrown in a game this year... he threw six in fayetteville in the october 17th loss to arkansas... despite the issues taking care of the football... head coach lane kiffin sympathizes with his quarterback... kiffin says: yeah it's tough.

We talked about it before he has to live it on saturday, read about it sunday and then we have to watch it with him.

It's like he's throwing five picks all over again.

He's frustrated and played really hard.

We didn't call a great game and didn't put him in the best spots at times devontae shuler and ole miss taking on ut-martin before starting conference play next week 1st half ball movement leads to kj buffin slashing to the rack....5-0 ole miss then buffin again....this time pulling the 3 ball from the wing...8-5 rebs ut martin on the inbounds....pass stolen by buffin who gets the easy fast break slam!!

Ole miss up by 10 later....west point austin crowley pass fake open 3 is good....his 1st 3 of the season!!

Then shuler....on the drive gets his shot blocked but gets the board and makes the put back!!

31-12 ole miss then shuler finds crowley again on the perimeter for another 3!!

The rebs go onto dominate!!

Final score ole miss 90 ut martin 43 mississippi state men's basketball wrapped up non- con play monday... they defeated the hapless mississippi valley state delta devils 87-48... it was a good opportunity for head coach ben howland to get all of his players some playing time... five bulldogs were in double figures in the win..

Iverson molinar led the way with 18 points... 5 rebounds and 5 dimes... state finished the non conference slate 6-3 and has 19 sec games remaining... they are off untilthe 30th before they play georgia and howland is optimistic about his team heading into conference play 00-05 howland says: i feel good about our team and the improvements that we made.

We've made good improvements and played well offensively.

I wouldve loved to have started out the season with iverson and everyone healthy, it is what it is but the bottom line is the sec is a whole new season.

Everything starts over and once it starts it never stops.

When we return...chief meteorologist starts it never stops.

When last look last look stinger last look last look stinger last look last look stinger last look