Follow These State Ordered Isolation Mandates Or You Will Pay The Consequences

On Friday the Mississippi State Department of Health issued an alert ordering any coronavirus-positive individuals to isolate for at least 10 days or face up to a 5-year prison sentence and a fine of up to $5,000.

The isolation order was issued in light of the rapidly growing number of COVID-19 cases in Mississippi. On Friday the 7-day average for new cases in the state reached 4,316 Friday, that’s almost double the highest point during the second wave in January, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs issued the order on Friday which states, that anyone “infected with COVID-19 must remain in the home or appropriate residential location for 10 days from onset of the illness.”

Failure to comply with the isolation order could result in a fine of $500 or imprisonment for six months. Nonetheless, since COVID-19 is a life-threatening disease, those punishments could go up to $5,000 or five years in prison or both, Dobbs wrote on Friday.

In Mississippi, hospitals currently have more COVID-19 patients than any other time during the pandemic, with 1,660 hospitalized, 457in ICU, and 324 on ventilators according to state health data.