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Social media users are sharing a photograph of an alleged official notice from Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves. The letter, which is fabricated, purportedly announces that face coverings will no longer be required in the state starting Oct. 1, 2020. This claim is false.

Reuters Fact Check. REUTERS

Examples are visible on Facebook here , here and Twitter here ,  here . 

The poorly fabricated document (see pixeled watermark of the state seal and grammatical errors) starts by saying: “This is a formal letter to all of the Residents and Business in Mississippi, the beginning of October 2020 the statewide mask requirements will be abolished.’   The signature featured in the fabricated letter also differs from Reeves’ authentic signature visible in official documents  here   . 

Renae Eze, a spokesperson for the governor’s office told Reuters via email that this letter “is an absolute fake”.

“As we have throughout the entire pandemic, our

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Mississippi officials have warned that a “fake” letter purportedly from Governor Tate Reeves is falsely claiming that the state’s face mask mandate has been abolished.



Tate Reeves wearing a suit and tie: Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves speaks about COVID-19 from the White House in Washington, D.C. on September 28, 2020.

© MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty
Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves speaks about COVID-19 from the White House in Washington, D.C. on September 28, 2020.

The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency shared a copy of the letter, with the word “FAKE” stamped over it in red lettering, on Facebook and Twitter on Sunday. The agency warned that the letter was not written by Reeves or anyone else in his office and that the mandate is still in effect.

“A ‘letter’ claiming to be from the governor’s office is circulating on social media,” the agency wrote. “The letter is a FAKE. Stay up to date with the latest executive orders posted on the Secretary of State’s website. And any major changes will be addressed in a press conference and an updated

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JACKSON, Miss.

A letter circulating on social media claiming to be from the office of Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves and abolishing the statewide mask mandate is fake, Mississippi Emergency Management Agency officials said Sunday.

“The letter is a FAKE,” the agency wrote on its Facebook page, adding that all of the governor’s executive orders can be found on the Secretary of State’s website. “Any major changes will be addressed in a press conference and an updated executive order.”

Mississippi’s statewide mask mandate has been in place since Aug. 4 to stem the spread of the coronavirus. It is set to expire at 5 p.m. Wednesday unless the governor extends it. He has chosen to extend the mandate several times already.

Mississippi Emergency Management Agency spokeswoman Malary White said Monday that she saw the fake letter circulating on Facebook and wanted to debunk it. Agency officials posted a photo of the

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Leah Willingham, Associated Press/ Report For America

Updated


  • Gov. Tate Reeves sports a "Mississippi Strong" face mask following his coronavirus news briefing in Jackson, Miss., Wednesday, July 8, 2020. Reeves and other state officials provided reporters an update on the coronavirus and the state's ongoing strategy to limit transmission. Photo: Rogelio V. Solis, AP / Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
    Gov. Tate Reeves sports a “Mississippi Strong” face mask following his coronavirus news briefing in Jackson, Miss., Wednesday, July 8, 2020. Reeves and other state officials provided reporters an update on the coronavirus and the state’s ongoing strategy to limit transmission. less
    Gov. Tate Reeves sports a “Mississippi Strong” face mask following his coronavirus news briefing in Jackson, Miss., Wednesday, July 8, 2020. Reeves and other state officials provided reporters an update on the … more


    Photo: Rogelio V. Solis, AP


Photo: Rogelio V. Solis, AP

Gov. Tate Reeves sports a “Mississippi Strong” face mask following his coronavirus news briefing in Jackson, Miss., Wednesday, July 8, 2020. Reeves and other state officials provided reporters an update on the coronavirus and the state’s ongoing strategy to limit transmission. less
Gov. Tate Reeves sports a “Mississippi Strong”
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There is still plenty of money left to provide grants for Mississippi businesses hurt by the coronavirus, but limited time to apply for it, said Jamie Miller, executive director of Mississippi Development Authority.

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The state received $1.25 billion from the federal CARES Act fund, and $240 million was set aside to help small businesses through Back-to-Business grants.

“Currently there is substantial money left in the fund based on the applications we have seen,” Miller said during the August virtual meeting of the Gulf Coast Business Council.

The program got off to a slow start, he said.

Most of the initial applicants requested the base amount of $1,500. The state Legislature upped that amount to $3,500, Miller said, and MDA saw “a pretty swift increase” in amount of grants.

When is the deadline to apply for a MS Back-to-Business grant?

The deadline to submit an application for a Back-to-Business

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JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi is closing 13 food centers across the state that serve low-income mothers and children as it prepares to start a new program early next year that will allow participants to use electronic cards to access supplies at grocery stores and pharmacies instead.

In the meantime, participants will still have access to benefits at centers elsewhere in the state. There are at least 80 food centers in Mississippi, the Commercial Dispatch reported.

Mississippi is one of the only states in the country that uses a warehouse distribution system and paper vouchers to distribute benefits to participants in the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program.

The state announced intentions to switch to electronic benefits transfer cards late last year, and that process will begin in January 2021 at the earliest. The eWIC card system will be easier to use and allow participants to access food at

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