mandate was put in place on august 4, but began to rise again after that mandate was lifted on september 30. the statewide mandate was put in place as the county-by-county approach reeves implemented over the summer failed to prevent a rising tide of new cases that threatened to overwhelm the state's hospitals. despite calls from state health officials to reinstate the statewide mandate, the county by county approach remained in place as of november 14. on march 2, 2021, governor reeves scaled back on his covid-19 restriction executive orders. however, local governments were not restricted from issuing their own measures. the orders were replaced with recommendations. tate claimed that the time for government intervention was over, citing the massive drop in hospitalization cases. a sign promoting distancing and mask use at the mississippi university for women impact on sports on march 12, the national collegiate athletic association cancelled all winter and spring tournaments, most notably the division i men's and women's basketball tournaments, affecting colleges and universities statewide. on march 16, the national junior college athletic association also canceled the remainder of the winter seasons as well as the spring seasons.