MS reports 539 new cases, 11 deaths. Here are 8 tips to stay safe Labor Day weekend.
On Saturday, the Mississippi State Department of Health report 539 new coronavirus cases and 11 more deaths.
One of the deaths is a Harrison County resident.
There are 52 more confirmed cases in the lower six counties.
Total cases by county in South Mississippi are:
George — 708 (1 new)
Hancock — 513 (3 new)
Harrison — 3,469 (24 new)
Jackson — 3,147 (21 new)
Pearl River — 787 (1 new)
Stone — 331 (2 new)
Friday, Sept 3
The Mississippi State Department of Health reported 823 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, the largest number since Aug. 26.
The figure included 90 new cases in Mississippi’s six southern-most counties.
The number of new cases statewide reported by MSDH has increased each day this week, from 274 Monday to over 800 Friday.
The state also reported 23 new deaths from coronavirus. No deaths were reported in the six lower counties.
These figures put the total number of cases statewide at 85,939, and the total number of deaths at 2,558.
State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs has urged Mississippians to take precautions during the Labor Day holiday weekend. Gatherings for Memorial Day and the Fourth of July drove transmission, he said.
“Mississippi still has one of the highest rates of COVID in the U.S.” he wrote. “Even modest sized gatherings can greatly accelerate the transmission of this virus.”
During a webinar on Friday with the Mississippi State Medical Association, Dobbs again urged Mississippians to have a quiet Labor Day, ideally celebrating only with immediate family members.
“Your family are more likely to give you coronavirus than strangers,” he said. “Just because you love ‘em, and you know ‘em, doesn’t mean they’re not gonna give you coronavirus.”
Here are eight tips Dobbs provided to the Mississippi Department of Education to keep people safe over the weekend:
- Maintain 6 feet: Staying 6 feet or more away from other people in every setting decreases the likelihood that you will contract the virus if they are contagious. Remember – you can never tell if someone has the virus and is contagious. Around half of transmission occurs from people without symptoms.
- Wear a mask: We know that this has become somewhat controversial and even political. The science is very clear — wearing masks or face coverings is an easy and effective way to decrease transmission, especially if the infected person is wearing a mask. Masks are a great way to contain “super-spreaders” who don’t know they are sick.
- Keep groups small: Small groups limit the likelihood of encountering someone with COVID. If someone does have COVID, it limits the number of people who can get infected. Avoid any crowded areas, especially if they are indoors.
- Clean/disinfect high touch areas frequently.
- Wash your hands or use hand sanitizer regularly.
- Eat and Visit Outdoors: Though possible, it is less likely to spread the virus outdoors. This is true for restaurants or back yards.
- Know your vulnerabilities: This may be the most important thing to know about COVID-19. Most people who contract COVID-19 don’t think they were at risk when the exposure happened. When we are around friends and family, we let our guard down. Exposure to infected family members is one of the most common ways to contract COVID.
- Assume everyone has COVID because they might.
Total cases by county in South Mississippi are:
George — 707 (1 new)
Hancock — 510 (2 new)
Harrison — 3,445 (37 new)
Jackson — 3,126 (31 new)
Pearl River — 786 (15 new)
Stone — 329 (4 new)
Thursday, Sept. 3
Three more residents of Harrison County have died from the coronavirus, according to Thursday’s report from Mississippi State Department of Health.
That puts the total for Harrison County at 61, ahead of Jackson County with 60 deaths from COVID-19. There now are 212 deaths across the six counties of South Mississippi.
Pearl River County had the most deaths in South Mississippi from April 11 until the end of July. On Aug. 1 Harrison County had 32 total deaths, Jackson County 34 and Pearl River 36. By Sept. 1, Harrison had 57 total deaths, Jackson County 60 and Pearl River 48.
Gov. Tate Reeves announced Wednesday that a second child between the ages of 1 and 5 has died from MIS, or multisystem inflammatory syndrome, caused by COVID-19. State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs declined to reveal in which part of the state the child lived.
The state reported 751 new cases and 10 deaths. That puts the total at 85,116 cases since March 11 and 2,536 deaths. Presumed recoveries are 67,918 through Aug. 30.
Hospitalizations for coronavirus continue to decline. As of Sept. 1, 654 people with COVID-19 were hospitalized, 190 were in ICU and 111 were on ventilators.
South Mississippi had 95 new cases Thursday, putting the total at 8,813.
Total cases by county are:
George — 706 (19 new)
Hancock — 508 (6 new)
Harrison — 3,408 (33 new)
Jackson — 3,095 (22 new)
Pearl River — 771 (13 new)
Stone — 325 (2 new)
Wednesday, Sept. 2
On Sept. 2, Mississippi’s state health department reported its largest COVID-19 case load in a week with 781 new cases and 33 deaths.
Those numbers increase this year’s totals in Mississippi to 84,635 cases and 2,526 deaths.
There was just one death reported in South Mississippi on Wednesday with that lone fatality taking place in Harrison County. A total of 69 new cases were reported in the state’s southernmost six counties.
As of Aug. 31, there were 663 people hospitalized with the coronavirus. There were also 135 people in hospitals with suspected cases.
The number of COVID-19 patients in intensive care dipped to its lowest point in several weeks at 196. The number of people on ventilators stood at 117.
Total cases by county in South Mississippi are:
George — 687 (0 new)
Hancock — 502 (1 new)
Harrison — 3,375 (39 new)
Jackson — 3,073 (21 new)
Pearl River — 758 (6 new)
Stone — 323 (2 new)
Tuesday, Sept. 1
On the first day of September, the state’s health department reported 634 new cases of COVID-19 and 20 deaths in Mississippi, with 97 of new cases in South Mississippi and no new deaths.
With the latest numbers, the state had 82,950 cases and 2,473 deaths.
Monday’s uptick in cases follows an announcement from Gov. Tate Reeves to extend mask mandates to prevent the spread of the virus.
Ingalls Shipbuilding has begun rapid testing that means employees are tested and receive their results within a half hour. Those who test negative are allowed to return to work and those who are positive for the virus are quarantined until they recover from the virus.
Since the first positive case of COVID-19 was reported in March, there are 67,918 presumed recoveries statewide.
On Monday, the six southern counties had 8,552 cases.
Total deaths for South Mississippi on Tuesday still stood at 60 in Jackson County, 57 in Harrison, 48 in Pearl River, 20 in Hancock, 13 in George and 10 in Stone.
Harrison and Jackson counties have had the most cases, with over 3,000 reported in each of the counties since March.
Total cases by county in South Mississippi are:
George — 687 (2 new)
Hancock — 501 (6 new)
Harrison — 3,336 (36 new)
Jackson — 3,052 (47 new)
Pearl River — 752 (1 new)
Stone — 321 (5 new)
Monday, Aug. 31
The last day of August was a big contrast to the first in Mississippi COVID-19 cases, and Gov. Tate Reeves was expected to announce in a press conference Monday afternoon whether he would continue the mask requirement.
Mississippi had 1,134 new cases reported on Aug. 1 and 274 new cases on Aug. 31, the lowest for the month.
The state now had a total of 82,950 cases, an increase of 23,948 during the month of August. That was nearly one-third of all cases since the pandemic began more than five months ago.
South Mississippi had 82 new cases Aug. 1 and 43 on Monday, also the lowest for the month. The six southern counties have 8,552 total cases, an increase of 3,122 for the month.
“We can avoid a Labor Day bump if we stay focused,” State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs tweeted Monday.
There were 67,918 presumed recoveries statewide.
Hospitalization numbers also improved at the end of August. From Aug. 14 to Aug. 28, those hospitalized with COVID-19 fell from 963 to 674. Those in ICU fell from 321 to 215 and those on respirators dropped from 176 to 111.
The State Department of Health reported 32 additional deaths Monday, 19 of them from review of death certificates between July 8 and Aug. 24. All of the 3 new deaths in South Mississippi were in Harrison County.
Total deaths for South Mississippi were 60 in Jackson County, 57 in Harrison, 48 in Pearl River, 20 in Hancock, 13 in George and 10 in Stone.
Harrison and Jackson counties reached had more than 3,000 cases of the coronavirus. Jackson County moved to 3,005 total cases Monday. Harrison County, which has the highest population of the six counties of South Mississippi, had 3,300 cases.
Total case through Monday:
George — 685 (1 new)
Hancock — 495 (5 new)
Harrison — 3,300 (15 new)
Jackson — 3,005 (15 new)
Pearl River — 751 (3 new)
Stone — 316 (4 new)
Sunday, Aug. 30
The Health Department reported 647 new cases of the coronavirus and 14 additional deaths.
In South Mississippi, there were 76 new cases, bringing the total to 8,509. Also reported were 4 new deaths: 2 in Hancock County and 1 each in Harrison and Jackson counties.
Total cases through Sunday in South Mississippi are:
George — 684 (5 new)
Hancock — 490 (3 new)
Harrison — 3,285 (17 new)
Jackson — 2,990 (44 new)
Pearl River — 748 (5 new)
Stone — 312 (2 new)
This story was originally published August 31, 2020 at 11:24 AM.
