Gov. Tate Reeves signs Executive Order 1542, extending Executive Orders 1535 and 1536 to February 3, 2021.

This order extends the countywide mask mandate and other social distancing requirements.

The City of Starkville's Mask Mandate remains in effect until further notice.

The statewide mask mandate has been extended to Monday, September 14, 2020, at 8:00 A.M. This extension went into effect at 7:59 A.M. this morning.

Today, July 24, 2020, Governor Tate Reeves signed Executive Order 1511 which modifies social gathering limitations and the operation of bars.

Here are some notable points, but does not include the full text of this order:
- Indoor social gathering/activities shall be limited to a maximum of 10 participants and outdoor social gathering/activities shall be limited to a maximum of 20 participants. All individuals shall maintain social distancing of a minimum of 6 feet distance between individuals not in the same household. This limitation shall not apply to religious entities, students in classrooms or gatherings in facilities governed by other capacity limitations.

- The sale of alcohol in bars is limited to only seated patrons. Bars shall continue limiting the number of customers in the bar to 50% of maximum capacity and updating floor plans to ensure at least six feet of separation between each party/group and limiting party sizes to a maximum of six customers per table.
- Restaurants and bars shall not sell alcohol between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.
This Executive Order shall be effective upon execution and shall remain in full force and effect until 8:00 a.m. on Monday, August 3, 2020, unless it is modified, amended, rescinded, or superseded.

Follow this link for full order text:

Today, July 7, 2020, the City of Starkville Mayor and Board of Aldermen adopted a seventh resolution for the control of contagious and infectious diseases.

Here are some notable points, but does not include the full text of this resolution:

Except as may be specifically allowed by the Governor’s Executive Orders related to Covid-19, all businesses and services, while interacting with the public, must require the following face covering and social distancing measures until further order of the Mayor and Board of Aldermen:

1) Employees shall properly wear face coverings ensuring coverage of the mouth and nose;
2) All businesses shall monitor all points of entrance and prohibit entrance into the business by any individual over the age of six (6) years not wearing a face covering;
3) Management of each business must provide adequate supervision to ensure compliance with the face-covering requirement to include, but not be limited to, door monitors to monitor entrance by the public and floor supervision for employees;
4) Prominent signs at every entrance informing customers they must stay 6 feet away from other customers who did not accompany them to the store;
5) For businesses with existing public address systems, regular announcements instructing customers to stay six feet away from each other;
6) Markers on floors and signage measuring six-foot intervals and instructing people where to stand in checkout lanes and other lines;
7) Employees specifically tasked to enforce social distancing among customers, and employees specifically dedicated to that task in the case of large retail establishments such as grocery stores whose publicly accessible areas cannot be viewed at once;
8) For businesses that utilize such technology, signage encouraging cashless purchases, online ordering and pickup, and use of self-service checkout stations.

Follow this link for full resolution text:

Monday, June 1, 2020, at 8:00 A.M. the Safe Return Order will go into effect.

Here are some notable points, but does not include the full text of this order:

- All businesses and non-profits in Mississippi are allowed to open, following CDC and Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) guidance to limit transmission.

- Restaurants and bars must continue to follow in-house dining guidelines set in Executive Orders 1478 and 1486. Bars that do not serve food are allowed to reopen, following those same guidelines.

- For outdoor recreation, people should follow social distancing and maintain a 6-foot distance from others.

- Indoor places of amusement, including bowling alleys and playgrounds, are allowed to reopen.

Full Order text can be found in the above links.

For the foreseeable future City of Starkville trash collection will be one day a week. The Monday-Thursday route will be picked up on Monday and the Tuesday -Friday route will be picked up on Tuesday. This is due to safety and cost cutting measures in the city's response to COVID-19

Today, May 9, 2020, the City of Starkville Mayor and Board of Aldermen adopted a sixth resolution for the control of contagious and infectious diseases.

Here are some notable points, but does not include the full text of this resolution:

-The 10:00 P.M. to 5:00 A.M. general curfew remains in effect until May 19, 2020.

-Consistent with Executive Order 1478 Section I(b), the City of Starkville’s parks shall open to the public at 8:00 a.m. on Thursday, May 14, 2020. Daily hours of operation shall be from 8:00a.m. to 8:00p.m. Participants shall maintain a minimum of six feet distance between individuals and limit group gatherings/activities to a maximum of 10 individuals for any indoor space open to the public and a maximum of 20 individuals outdoors. Participants are also encouraged to follow the guidelines for Visiting Parks and Recreational Facilities promulgated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention relating to Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19). The City of Starkville’s swimming pool and the Travis Outlaw Center shall remain closed to the public until further action of the Board of Aldermen.

-While still being strongly encouraged to do so, it shall no longer be required that businesses open to the public compel their employees or customers to wear face coverings. Face coverings are still required for employees of restaurants and bars providing in-house dining pursuant to the Governor’s Executive Order No. 1478(I)(a)(vi), for employees and customers of salons, barber shops, personal care and personal grooming facilities pursuant to Executive Order No. 1480(I)(a)(vii) & (ix), and for employees of fitness and exercise gyms pursuant to Executive Order No. 1480(I)(b)(viii).

Governor Tate Reeves Signs Executive Order 1480

Today, May 5, 2020, the City of Starkville Mayor and Board of Aldermen adopted a fifth resolution for the control of contagious and infectious diseases.

Here are some notable points, but does not include the full text of this resolution:

-The 10:00 P.M. to 5:00 A.M. general curfew remains in effect until May 11, 2020, to align with the time frame of the Governor's Executive Order 1477.

-The City of Starkville's parks shall remain closed until further notice.

-All businesses open to the public shall require their employees and customers over the age of 6 years old to wear face coverings. Businesses are required to provide adequate supervision to ensure compliance by employees and customers. This continues until May 11, 2020, to align with the time frame of the Governor's Executive Order 1477.

-Customers dining in-house at restaurants and bars are excluded from being required to wear face coverings but shall adhere to all of the restrictions and limitations contained in Executive Order 1478 Section I(a). Employees at restaurants and bars shall wear face coverings consistent with Executive Order 1478 Section I(a)(vi).

Follow this link for full resolution text:

We have added a link for the Governor's Executive Order 1478.

Today, in a special call meeting, the City of Starkville Mayor and Board of Aldermen adopted a fourth resolution for the control of contagious and infectious diseases.

Here are some notable points, but does not include the full text of this resolution:

-The 10:00 P.M. to 5:00 A.M. curfew is extended until May 11, 2020, to align with the time frame of the Governor's Executive Order 1477.

-All businesses open to the public shall require their employees and customers over the age of 6 years old to wear face coverings. Businesses are required to provide adequate supervision to ensure compliance by employees and customers. This is effective tomorrow, April 28, 2020, at 8:00 A.M. and continues until May 11, 2020, to align with the time frame of the Governor's Executive Order 1477.

Follow this link for full resolution text:

We have added links for the Governor's Executive Order 1477 Safer-At-Home.

The City of Starkville Implements Curfew

In the City of Starkville, there shall be a general curfew from 10:00 P.M to 5:00 A.M. except for Essential Travel or Essential Activities as those terms are defined in the Governor’s Executive Order 1466. This curfew shall become effective April 7, 2020, at 10:00 P.M. This curfew will expire on April 20, 2020, to align with Executive Order 1466. If the Governor extends the Shelter in Place, this curfew shall also extend to be consistent with it.

This resolution also requires businesses, agencies, and units of government located within the City of Starkville to take all reasonable measures to ensure that such businesses comply with the CDC and the Mississippi Department of Health recommendations and guidance.

An additional Oktibbeha County curfew remains in effect for the next 30 days running from 10 p.m. - 5 a.m.

Full Resolution text is enclosed.

Shelter In Place Executive Order 1466

Governor Tate Reeves signed Executive Order 1466 establishing a statewide shelter-in-place for Mississippi in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19 and protect the health of all Mississippians.

The shelter-in-place will begin this Friday, April 3, 2020 at 5:00 PM and be in effect until Monday, April 20, 2020 at 8:00 AM.

This latest executive order outlines the guidelines of the statewide shelter-in-place, stating that:

- Individuals are to stay at home except for the limited allowances in the executive order.
- When outside of their homes, people must follow social distancing guidelines by maintaining a 6-foot distance from others and avoid groups of 10 or more.
- Evictions are suspended, though people are still required to pay any rent or make any mortgage payments.
- All nonessential businesses are to stop all activities other than those necessary for minimum operations (e.g. payroll, health insurance, security) and enabling employees to work from home.
- Social and other non-essential gatherings in groups of more than 10 people must be cancelled or rescheduled.
- Restaurants and bars may only remain open for drive-thru, curbside, and/or delivery service.
- People may leave their homes only to perform essential activities, such as caring for someone in the vulnerable population, getting food or necessary supplies, and working for an essential business.
- Individual outdoor recreation is encouraged, but not group recreation or activities such as soccer or basketball games.

Essential businesses are defined in Executive Order 1463 on page 3.

The City has dedicated a city phone line to taking calls from people needing assistance over the coming days and weeks. The number is 662-323-4813 and will operate Monday - Friday, 9am-4pm.

Several local churches will be partnering together to provide this service. We will take the information of the caller that includes the name and location and the needs. The types of needs that the churches are able to help with are yard work, food, transportation and pickup and delivery of groceries or prescriptions.

Our community is a wonderful and generous group of people who are eager to help their friends and neighbors in this time of difficulty.