Mississippi reports over 2,000 new coronavirus cases for 7th day in a row
For the seventh straight day, more than 2,000 new cases of COVID-19 were reported in Mississippi.
Friday’s numbers from the State Department of Health show 2,503 new cases and 34 deaths in the state, with 5 of those deaths in South Mississippi.
Three more deaths were reported in Harrison County — one from a review of prior death certificates. George County had one death Thursday and 1 from a prior death certificate.
“Please beware of the silent super-spreader at your holiday table,” State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs tweeted Friday. “Most people don’t know they have COVID when they spread it.
“Keep it small! We catch COVID from people we know, people we love.”
Mississippi has had 137,808 cases and 3,615 deaths since the pandemic began. The lower six counties of South Mississippi have had 23,442 cases and 452 deaths total.
While new cases are high in South Mississippi, they are higher in other parts of the state. Union and Tippah counties have the highest incidences of new cases the week of Dec. 16, based on population.
The highest incidence rate in South Mississippi from the most recent report, Nov. 23 to Dec. 6, was Stone County, which was the 36th highest in the state with a rate of 70.1 new cases per 100,000 residents. Union County’s rate was 156.7 new cases per 100,000 residents.
Four of the counties in the top 10 aren’t under mask orders.
For those looking for a glimmer of positive news, the 238 new cases reported Friday in South Mississippi was well below the record 427 cases on Thursday.
And hospitalizations in the state leveled off or fell slightly over the last few days. On Dec. 16, there were 1,216 people hospitalized in Mississippi with the coronavirus, down from the high of 1,238 on Dec. 14. Those in ICU fell to 312 from the high of 321 on Dec. 15, and the 193 people on ventilators held steady at 193.
Health department records show that of the 7,901 people who have been hospitalized in Mississippi with COVID-19, about half of them are age 65 and older. But the virus also is impacting the young, with 131 of those hospitalized under age 18.
New total cases by county are:
George — 1,557 (23 new)
Hancock — 1,644 (20 new)
Harrison — 9,262 (81 new)
Jackson — 7,779 (68 new)
Pearl River — 2,177 (38 new)
Stone — 1,023 (8 new)
