Six more deaths in South Mississippi as state reports 801 new coronavirus cases
Mississippi has 801 new cases of coronavirus reported Tuesday, with 117 of them in South Mississippi.
The state health department, which was having issues with its website and reporting, added 67 additional deaths, with 23 of them from review of death certificates from July 1 through Aug. 17.
South Mississippi has 6 more deaths Tuesday and 20 in the last week, with 3 in Jackson County, 2 in Harrison County and 1 in Pearl River County. The total now is 190 in the six southern counties, led by Jackson County with 57 and Harrison County with 48 deaths.
State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs said during an afternoon press conference these additional deaths were gleaned from vital records and validated. Mississippi will see a lot of deaths, he said, because the state still has a lot of cases and a 2% mortality rate.
Dobbs also advised Mississippi residents: “If you lose your sense of taste or smell, you almost certainly have coronavirus.”
Hospitalizations for coronavirus have improved in the last week in Mississippi. On Monday there were 778 people with the coronavirus in the hospitals, down from 929 a week ago. Those in ICU dropped to 234 from 284 a week ago and the 124 people on ventilators is down from 163 on Aug. 17.
Mississippi has 79,206 total cases and 2,315 deaths since the pandemic began. Presumed recoveries are 62,707 through Aug. 23.
Total cases for South Mississippi since March 11 are 8,069. By county totals are:
George — 672 (0 new)
Hancock — 463 (6 new)
Harrison — 3,100 (39 new)
Jackson — 2,830 (55 new)
Pearl River —708 (11 new)
Stone —296 (6 new)
This story was originally published August 25, 2020 at 1:49 PM.
