Mississippi Medicaid Director and Vicksburg family practitioner Dr. Carlos Latorre believes Merit Health is ready for COVID-19.

“Our hospitals are doing well,” Latorre said Sunday during a press conference with Vicksburg and Warren County officials. “We have enough beds, enough staff and enough ventilators.”

Latorre, who also serves on Mississippi’s COVID-19 task force, said about 20 percent of COVID-19 patients will be hospitalized, and 3 to 5 percent will not recover from the virus. Out of the 847 cases reported to date in Mississippi, 195 have required hospitalization, or 23 percent, according to the Mississippi State Department of Health website.

Normally, when health professionals place a patient on a ventilator, they stay on the breathing device for two to four days, the doctor said. For severe cases of COVID-19, which frequently presents as pneumonia in both lungs, patients are staying on ventilators for two weeks straight and some even longer.

“I think Merit Health is ready,” Latorre said. “Vicksburg is a hub for our area. Port Gibson, Issaquena County, Rolling Fork—if people get sick, and they need a higher level of care their facilities can’t provide, they come to Merit Health, and we don’t see that changing.”

With four testing sites in Vicksburg, Latorre said health-care professionals have tested over 100 individuals and two have come back positive.

The first known case in Warren County was an inmate who tested positive for COVID-19 last Thursday. Latorre said that the county where a person is tested is not necessarily where the case is counted. That particular case was added to Rankin County’s total as that is the inmate’s permanent address.

Warren County does, however, have a a confirmed case: A 45-year-old woman who likely contracted the virus when she recently visited New Orleans.

Vicksburg Fire/EMS transported the woman to the hospital.

“Once we got confirmation the 45-year-old female did test positive, we monitored our staff closely for symptoms,” Fire Chief Craig Danczyk said, “and that worked and was very positive. And most of that is because of the precautions we are taking to keep our equipment and workstations sanitized.”

Danczyk said he has canceled vacations for Vicksburg’s first responders to ensure the community is well served during the pandemic.

John Elfer, Warren County Emergency Management director, said he has worked closely with the Mississippi State Department of Health and other state officials to bring drive-through free testing to Vicksburg. As a result, the University of Mississippi Medical Center and MSDH is hosting a one-day testing clinic on Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Latorre believes Warren County will see an increase in COVID-19 numbers due the availability of free testing, but getting quick results could be an issue.

“We are having tests that are not coming back as quickly as we would like,” Latorre said. “Some are taking seven to nine days for us to get the results.”

Waiting that long can be challenging and stressful for health professionals and for patients waiting to learn the results.

Above all else, Latorre, Danczyk and Elfer urge people to stay indoors if they have the ability to do so.

“The majority of the population has complied” with social-distancing recommendations, Danzyck said. “I see a limited number of cars on the road. I think the public has responded positively to the measures taken.”

Danczyk reminded the public to only call 911 if it is an emergency. Warren County E-911 has had an increased number of callers during the pandemic. He also asked callers to be be patient with the dispatcher, as they are instructed to ask questions regarding COVID-19 symptoms before dispatching emergency personnel.

The gates on the Steele Bayou Control Structure were closed at around 2:30 p.m. Monday, Drew Smith, chief of Water Management for the Vicksburg District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers confirmed to Vicksburg Daily News.

“River conditions are such that the gates needed to close,” Smith said.

The Mississippi River was at 46.69 feet as of 2 p.m. and is projected to crest at 49 feet on April 9.

In a related development, Bob Broadwater with the Mississippi Department of Transportation said MDOT will probably close State Highway 465 once again from Highway 61 to the intersection with the backwater levee within the next 48 hours. Water was already near the edge of the roadway, he said, adding that there is some undermining of the roadway just south of the old gin that will have to be addressed once the water recedes.

Currently, the Backwater is at 94.7 feet, and there are 427,000 total acres flooded including 154,000 acres of crop land, said Levee Board Chief Engineer Peter Nimrod in an email update this afternoon. The Backwater is predicted to crest between 95 feet and 95.5 feet by mid-April. At 95.5 feet there will be 454,000 total acres flooded including 172,000 acres of crop land.

Mississippi River predictions:

The National Weather Service unofficial forecast for the next 16 days matches up with the official forecast shown above, Nimrod said.

• Arkansas City is slowly rising and could crest near 42’ in 7 days.
• Greenville is slowly rising and could crest near 53.5’ in 9 days.
• Vicksburg is slowly rising and could crest near 49.5’ in 10 days.

Nimrod also provided the following Backwater facts in his update:

• The Backwater went 33 years (from 1984 until 2017) without ever being above 94 feet (over 400,000 acres flooded).
• In the past three years, the Backwater has eclipsed 94 feet every year.
• In 2018, it was above 94 feet for 14 days.
• In 2019, it was above 94 feet for 147 days.
• So far in 2020, it has been above 94 feet for 40 days and counting.

Vicksburg Police officers arrested a man Saturday for possession of drugs and a gun after he called to say someone had shot into his house.

Officers arrested Darren Mazie, 34, of 3062 Wisconsin Ave., who had reported that his residence had been shot into around 3:30 a.m. March 28. While looking for bullets inside the house, officers saw bags containing over 100 grams of marijuana. He was also in possession of a loaded handgun.

Mazie has been charged with felony possession of marijuana and possession of a firearm by a felon.

Other reported incidents for Friday March 27 through Sunday, March 29:

Officers responded to a residence in the 200 block of Hillside Drive in for an auto burglary on Sunday, March 29, at 3:53 p.m. The victim stated that someone went into her glove box and stole her 9mm Taurus handgun. The vehicle had been left unlocked the previous night.

Vicksburg Police officers responded to three shots fired calls. They found no evidence of shots fired at any of the scenes.

• Friday at 11:27 p.m., officers responded to the area of Second and National streets.
• Sunday, at 1:48 a.m., officers responded to the 2000 block of Martin Luther King Boulevard.
• Sunday at 9:12 p.m., officers responded to the area of Cherry Street at East Avenue.

If you have information on any of these incidents, please call the Vicksburg Police Department at 601-636-2511.