On her Wednesday night MSNBC program Rachel Maddow said that "it's not just bad news, it's national news" that health officials in Mississippi are reporting the state hospital system is on the brink of failure.
With hospitals running out of room, pushing the University of Mississippi Medical Center to expand its bed capacity by repurposing its parking garage, officials, including Associate Vice Chancellor for Clinical Affairs Dr. Alan Jones, held a "pull the fire alarm" news conference Wednesday.
"If we continue the trajectory we're on, within the next five to seven to ten days, I think we're going to see failure of the hospital system in Mississippi," said Jones said at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, the flagship hospital in the state.
"Hospitals are full from Memphis to Gulfport, Natchez to Meridian. Everything is full," he continued.
Jones went on to express his fear of turning away not just Covid-19 patients, but also patients requiring time-sensitive medical attention, such as heart attacks and strokes. "That is our nightmare," he finished.
Mississippi's Gov. Tate Reeves, a Republican, has publicly downplayed the coronavirus crisis in his state.
"This is not what they are warning might happen. This is today," said Maddow. "This is what's happening right now."
"The state of Mississippi is in trouble," she finished.
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