Kosciusko Mayor Jimmy Cockroft is recovering at home after spending a week in the hospital due to COVID-19 infection. Cockroft and his wife, Linda, tested positive on Dec. 30.“Symptoms were light for both of us for a few days, then mine began to get worse,” he told The Star-Herald. “I went to the clinic on Jan. 8 for a chest X-ray and ended up in the emergency room. I was then admitted and stayed until the 13th.” His release from the hospital coincided with his 64th birthday. A day later, Cockroft posted a note on social media, expressing gratitude to the medical team that cared for him, and for all the birthday wishes he had received from the community.“Spent most of it at Baptist-Attala, but thankfully got to come home yesterday afternoon. I appreciate Dr. Holdiness, Dr. Carter, Dr. Wallace, and ALL the staff for taking care of me for six days,” he wrote on Jan. 14. Cockroft said Tuesday that he is recovering, but remains unsure of an exact date for his return to regular hours at city hall.“Doctors tell me I’m looking at another couple weeks’ recovery time,” he said.In his Jan. 14 online post, Cockroft urged people to take COVID-19 seriously.“If you doubt COVID is real,” he said, “I can attest it’s the real deal — especially when you get COVID pneumonia.”
