'Mississippians step up,' Reeves says in impassioned response

Gov.

Tate Reeves says gives an impassioned response to a question from a reporter about whether an earlier national response to COVID-19 would have prevented a shortage of personal protection equipment and boosted early testing efforts.

THAT I THINK WE DID HAVE ANEARLY STRATEGY BY THE FEDERALGOVERNMENT AS YOU’VE HEARDPRESIDENT TRUMP SAY REPEATEDLYMUCH TO THE CHAGRIN OF JOE BIDENAND MANY OTHER DEMOCRATS AROUNDTHE COUNTRY.HE WAS VERY EARLY TO SHUT DOWNTRAVEL TO CHINA PARTICULARLY THEWU HAN REGION OF CHINA.I THINK THAT WENT A LONG WAYTOWARDS THE FACT THAT OUR MODELSWHICH ONCE PROJECTED BETWEEN250,000 A MILLION AMERICANS DIE.FROM THIS HORRIBLE VIRUS HASBEEN REDUCED SIGNIFICANTLY ANDCERTAINLY THAT HAS BEEN THE CASEIN MISSISSIPPI WITH RESPECT TOSHORTAGES OF PPE.THERE IS NO QUESTION THAT THATTHE COUNTRY DID NOT DID NOT.ANTICIPATE A PANDEMIC THE LIKESOF WHICH WE HAVEN’T SEEN IN AHUNDRED AND TWO YEARS INAMERICA.AND SO IT DID LEAVE EACH OF OURSTATE’S AND OUR FEDERALGOVERNMENT SCRAMBLING TO ENSURETHAT WE HAD ADEQUATE PPE THAT WEHAD ADEQUATE VENTILATORS, YOUKNOW, THAT’S THE THI THAT IOFTEN FIND SOMEWHAT DISTURBINGABOUT THIS WHOLE CRISIS IS JUSTA FEW WEEKS AGO, AND THIS ISPRIMARILY DEALT WITH THENATIONAL MEDIA.THE ONLY THING THE NATIONALMEDIA WANTED TO TALK ABOUT WASVENTILATORS.WE AS A COUNTRY.WE’RE GOING TO RUN OUT OFVENTILATORS AND AND THAT WASGOING TO LEAD TO INDIVIDUALS INOUR COUNTRY.THAT COULD HAVE BEEN SAVED THATWERE NOT SAY BECAUSE WE DIDN’THAVE ADEQUATE VENTILATORS.NOW.WE HAVE STATE SENDINGVENTILATORS TO OTHER STATES ANDWE HAVE OUR COUNTRY SEND INVENTILATORS TO OTHER COUNTRIESIN OUR STATE.IT WAS PROJECTED AT ONE TIMETHAT WE WOULD HAVE APPROXIMATELYA THOUSAND MISSISSIPPIANS ONVENTILATORS TODAY.I KNOW YESTERDAY OR THE DAYBEFORE YESTERDAY.WE HAD 78 THAT MAY HAVE UPTICK ALITTLE BIT FOR SIX EIGHT PERCENTIN THE LAST COUPLE OF DAYS, BUTAGAIN LESS THAN THAN ONE IN TEN.WHAT WAS ORIGINALLY PROJECTEDAND THAT’S BECAUSE WE HAVEMANAGED THROUGH THIS IN A VERYCHALLENGING ENVIRONMENT IN THECORRECT PROPER WAY AND SO I WILLTELL YOU THE THE FEDERALGOVERNMENT HAS BEEN A GREATPARTNER FOR US.THERE IS NO DOUBT.YOU CAN LOOK AT STATES TESTINGNUMBERS.AND YOU CAN SEE WHICH STATESWERE FOCUSED ON TESTING WEEKSAND WEEKS AND WEEKS AGO WHENSOME ONLY WANTED TO TALK ABOUTVENTILATORS IN WHICH STATES WERENOT.IS VERY VERY EVIDENT THAT THOSESTATES THAT WERE VERY EARLY INTOTESTING AND I GIVE ALL OF THECREDIT TO DR. DOBBS AND HIS TEAMTHEY HAVE DONE YEOMAN’S WORK.THEY PARTNERED WITH THEUNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPIMEDICAL CENTER.THEY PARTNERED VERY EARLY WITHTHE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN,MISSISSIPPI AND FOREST GENERALIN PUTTING TOGETHER THEIRTESTING SITES, AND THEY’RETESTING CAPABILITIES.THEY THEY WERE UTILIZE UTILIZINGTHE STATE HEALTH LAB FOR THEMOST IMPORTANT CASES THAT WEREALREADY AT HOSPITALS.THEY HAD A TESTING STRATEGY INOUR PANDEMIC PLAN AND WEEXECUTED IT.THAT’S WHAT WE DID INMISSISSIPPI IS WE EXECUTED OURPLAN AND EVERY SINGLE DAY.WE’RE CONTINUING TO LOOK AT THEDATA.RESOURCES WE HAVE AVAILABLE ANDWE’RE CONTINUING TO EXECUTE OURPLAN AND WE’RE GOING TO CONTINUETO DO THAT UNTIL SOMEONE WITH AHIGHER POWER TELLS US WE CAN’TDO THAT ANYMORE BECAUSE WE ARECOMMITTED TO GET EVERY SINGLEAVAILABLE RESOURCE TO THE PEOPLEOF MISSISSIPPI.IN HIS EXPEDITED AWAY ASPOSSIBLE AND GET IT TO THEM SOTHAT THEY CAN USE IT NOW NOTEIGHT MONTHS FROM NOW NOT EIGHTYEARS FROM NOW, BUT AS SOON ASHUMANLY POSSIBLE BECAUSE NOW ISWHEN PEOPLE ARE HURTING NOW ISWHEN THE PEOPLE OF MY STATE MYCONSTITUENTS ARE HURTING AND I’MGOING TO DO EVERYTHING IN MYPOWER TO GET THAT DONE AND I’MGOING TO WORK WITH OUR FEDERALPARTNERS TO MAKE IT A REALITY.YOU HADN’T SEEN ME SITTING UPHERE COMPLAINING ABOUT WHAT THEFEDERAL HAS OR HAS NOT DONE?MISSISSIPPI AND STEP UP WE WORKWITH OUR FEDERAL DELEGATION.WE WORK WITH OUR FEDERALPARTNERS.WE WORK WITH THE PRESIDENT ANDWHEN WE CAN’T GET SOMETHING FROMTHEM WE FIGURE OUT A WAY TO MAKEA VENTILATOR AT THE UNIVERSITYOF MISSISSIPPI MEDICAL CENTERWITH $50 WORTH OF SUPPLIES FROMLOCAL HARDWARE STORES.THAT’S WHAT MISSISSIPPI IS ALLABOUT.AND