Hinds County is now categorized as red, the color code for areas with over 10% COVID-19 test positivity rates. It has recorded 11,046 cases of COVID-19, with 208 deaths as of Dec. 7. That is a death rate of 1.9%, slightly lower than Mississippi's at 2.39%.

The COVID-19 test positivity rate in Hinds County doubled between September and November. It was 6.1% in the last week of September but jumped from 7.5% in the last week of October to 12.2% in the last week of November, records on Mississippi Department of Health website showed.

Recent concerns of an increase in the rate of infection in Jackson prompted Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba to enact an executive order last week directing non-essential workers to work remotely. This followed reports of a 142% increase in cases in some parts of the city.

Lumumba, while stating the rationale for the new executive order, said that the city does not have the luxury of a wait-and-see attitude to the coronavirus pandemic, which yesterday crossed the 4,000-death mark at 4,017 deaths from 167,926 infections in Mississippi.

"Continued extraordinary measures related to preventing the spread of the coronavirus are necessary and expedient for the health, safety, welfare and good order to protect the public peace and preserve lives," Lumumba said in the order.

JPS Starts In-person Schooling January

After engaging in fully virtual classes since Aug. 10, the Jackson Public School District has added traditional and hybrid schooling as options for various students categories starting January.

JPS Superintendent Errick L. Greene said in a video posted on YouTube in November that the decision is partly because of differences in family circumstances.

"And now as we prepare for the spring semester, we're reminded that not all of our JPS families are similarly situated, and we must therefore offer more options to ensure that our scholars succeed," he said. "We believe this is the right decision for several reasons."

"The social and emotional needs of our scholars are great, and it's very difficult to offer those virtually," he added. "Our youngest scholars require in-person instruction to ensure that they have the foundational skills for greater success."

The superintendent said that the prospect of getting a vaccine and lessons learned from districts already running the traditional learning format also guided the decision to opt for the change.

"We've been learning lessons from others who have run in-person traditional programs," he said. "And so some of the strategies and some of the smartest moves that they're implementing, we're learning from those, and we'll be able to use those in our own practices here."

From January, elementary students can choose between virtual and in-person options, while middle- and high-school students will choose between virtual or hybrid. Greene said the in-person learning will be with appropriate measures against the spread of coronavirus.

"For our middle and high school scholars, they will also have the option of a hybrid instructional program on alternating A and B days to allow for greater distancing and enhanced cleaning," he said. "I'm excited about this transition to what we've coined a smart restart, and we will continue to monitor the data and adjust the plan as necessary."

Email story tips to city/county reporter Kayode Crown at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @kayodecrown.