Department of Health places stop on all non-urgent surgeries in Mississippi

On Thursday, State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs ordered a stop on all non-urgent surgeries requiring overnight stays.

The order runs 8 days, until July 20th, and was placed due to hospitals running out of rooms for critically ill COVID-19 patients. Dobbs also states that some patients are being sent to hospitals in other states due to bed shortages here.

You can see the order from Dr Dobbs below:

Non-Urgent Surgeries and Procedures Requiring Hospitalization
Due to increasing COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, and increasing demands on the healthcare
system, and diminishing availability of inpatient medical services throughout Mississippi:

1) Surgeries in Tier 1 and 2 (from Appendix) that require overnight hospitalization must be
postponed beyond July 20, 2020.
2) Elective medical admissions that can be safely delayed should be postponed beyond July
20, 2020.

Any surgery in Tier 1 or 2 that requires overnight hospitalization that is performed due to
extraordinary circumstances must be accompanied by an extensive and compelling justification.

This 10th Day of July 2020.
Thomas Dobbs, MD, MPH
State Health Officer
Mississippi State Department of Health