How are COVID cases and deaths on the Coast in February? Here’s the latest
The Mississippi State Department of Health reported 549 new cases of COVID-19 and 31 deaths on Saturday.
Seven of the deaths took place in the state’s southernmost six counties — five in Jackson County, one in Harrison County and one in Pearl River County.
Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 779 deaths from the coronavirus reported in South Mississippi.
State-wide, the number of people hospitalized with confirmed cases has remained below 500 in three consecutive MSDH reports. Prior to the current stretch, the last date that figure was below 500 was on Oct. 15.
As of Feb. 25, there were 466 people hospitalized with confirmed cases. There were 120 patients in intensive care.
As of Feb. 26, 381,249 people have received the COVID-19 vaccine in Mississippi. Of that total, 191,874 have received both doses.
To check for available appointments:
- MSDH drive-through appointments at covidvaccine.umc.edu or call 877-978-6453.
- Memorial Hospital Gulfport vaccine hotline is 228-867-5000.
- Singing River Health System hotline is 228-809-5555
- Call your local pharmacy to see if the vaccine is available there. The list and search map is available online.
COVID-19 cases in South Mississippi
George County — 2,312 (1 new)
Hancock County — 3,438 (22 new)
Harrison County — 16,618 (49 new)
Jackson County — 12,509 (26 new)
Pearl River County — 4,144 (6 new)
Stone County — 1,719 (1 new)
Friday, Feb. 26
After a steady decline in new coronavirus cases in Mississippi since the first of February, the numbers are starting to level as the month ends.
Mississippi State Department of Health reported 731 new cases Friday and 25 more deaths.
Of those, 137 new cases and 4 additional deaths were in the six southern counties of South Mississippi.
That puts the seven-day average for the state at 521 new cases a day, down almost two-thirds from 1,509 on Feb. 1. The seven-day average of deaths in Mississippi is 15, down from 40 per day at the beginning of the month.
In the six counties of South Mississippi, the seven-day average is 100 new cases per day compared to 300 a day at the beginning of February.
To keep the numbers declining, the health department on Friday advised those eligible for the coronavirus vaccine to check the online vaccination scheduler or call for an appointment, especially early in the week, when a large number of new appointments usually become available.
Through Thursday, 368,136 people have received their first dose of the coronavirus vaccine in Mississippi and 179,570 people have received both doses of the vaccine.
An increasing number of hospitals, pharmacies like Walmart and CVS and other private health care providers and pharmacy chains also have vaccine, the notice said. The list includes Ochsner Medical Center in Bay St. Louis and several local pharmacies.
To check for available appointments:
- MSDH drive-through appointments at covidvaccine.umc.edu or call 877-978-6453.
- Memorial Hospital Gulfport vaccine hotline is 228-867-5000.
- Singing River Health System hotline is 228-809-5555
- Call your local pharmacy to see if the vaccine is available there. The list and search map is available online.
Those who are eligible to get vaccine are: Healthcare workers paramedics, those age 65 and older, those 18-64 with underlying medical conditions, teachers and employees in K-12, preschool or daycare settings, all first responders such as law enforcement, fire and emergency services.
Total cases by county in South Mississippi are:
- George — 2,311 (5 new cases)
- Hancock — 3,416 (17 new cases)
- Harrison — 16,569 (57 new cases)
- Jackson — 12,483 (32 new cases)
- Pearl River — 4,138 (22 new cases)
- Stone — 1,718 (4 new case)
Mississippi has 293,542 cases and 6,638 deaths.
South Mississippi has 40,635 total cases and 772 deaths since March 11.
Thursday, Feb. 25
A trend of dropping COVID-19 numbers in Mississippi came to a halt for at least one day on Thursday with the Mississippi State Department of Health reporting 920 new cases of COVID-19 — the largest single-day report since Feb. 11.
The state’s southernmost six counties reported 170 new cases on Thursday.
State-wide, MSDH reported eight new deaths from the coronavirus. Five took place in South Mississippi — three in Harrison County, one in Jackson County and one in Pearl River County.
The seven-day average for new deaths in Mississippi remains well below the Jan. 17 peak of 51 at 12.
As of Thursday morning, 368,136 people in the state have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine with 179,571 getting both shots.
With COVID-19 numbers dipping in the Magnolia State, more public services that have been restricted in the past will become available, including local libraries.
On Thursday, it was announced that public libraries in Jackson County and George County will re-open on March 1.
The plan is to originally allow visits to the library up to 50 percent capacity before eventually bumping up to 75 percent in the coming weeks.
Masks will be required for in-person visits and social distancing will be enforced.
Drive-through appointments for people eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine are available at covidvaccine.umc.edu or by calling 877-978-6453.
COVID-19 numbers in South Mississippi
George County — 2,306 (8 new cases)
Hancock County — 3,399 (13 new cases)
Harrison County — 16,512 (81 new cases)
Jackson County — 12,451 (32 new cases)
Pearl River County — 4,116 (30 new cases)
Stone County — 1,714 (3 new case)
Wednesday, Feb. 24
There were thousands of first-dose appointments for the COVID-19 vaccine posted to the Mississippi State Department of Health’s website on Wednesday morning.
It marked the first time that a large number of appointments have been added to covidvaccine.umc.edu since Gov. Tate Reeves announced Tuesday that pre-school and K-12 teachers, law enforcement members and first responders were added to the list of people eligible to receive the vaccine. Those already eligible were people ages 65 and up and those 16 and up who suffer from pre-existing conditions that make them susceptible to more severe symptoms of the coronavirus.
Appointments can also be arranged by calling 877-978-6453.
Most vaccine appointments are gone within a few hours of posting, but cancellations do usually make a small number of appointments available on a daily basis.
The total number of people who have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in Mississippi was 349,506 as of Feb. 23. Of that total, 156,474 have received both totals.
MSDH announced 669 new cases of COVID-19 and 28 deaths on Wednesday as numbers continue to level off across the state.
The seven-day average for new cases in Mississippi is now 356 — the lowest mark since June 18.
New cases in the state’s southernmost six counties have also taken a dip. The seven-day average for the area is now 78 — the lowest figure since Oct. 3.
State-wide, the number of people hospitalized with confirmed cases of COVID-19 was 512 as of Feb. 22. There were 153 people in intensive care.
COVID-19 cases in South Mississippi
George County — 2,298 (3 new cases)
Hancock County — 3,386 (9 new cases)
Harrison County — 16,431 (46 new cases)
Jackson County — 12,419 (18 new cases)
Pearl River County — 4,070 (13 new cases)
Stone County — 1,711 (4 new cases)
Tuesday, Feb. 23
Mississippi reported 24 new deaths due to COVID-19 on Tuesday, after two days in a row of zero deaths. The state also reported 348 new COVID-19 cases.
Four of the deaths were reported in Harrison County. Of those, two took place between Feb. 12 and Feb. 22, according to the health department, and two took place from Jan. 27 to Feb. 15 and were identified from death certificate reports.
No other South Mississippi counties reported deaths.
There were 65 new cases in the six South Mississippi counties, bringing the seven-day new-case average to 91.33.
Hospitalizations have also been declining steeply since mid-January.
On Tuesday, State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs wrote in a tweet that the recent statistics show “Welcome trends.”
“For now please: Wear a mask in public and avoid social events,” he wrote. “We need time to vaccinated more people to prevent a 4th wave and dodge the threat of emerging variants!”
The health department reported last week that a case of the variant strain B.1.1.7 had been identified in Mississippi. The variant spreads much more quickly than the original coronavirus, but evidence so far indicates the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are effective against it.
So far, the state has administered two doses to nearly 146,000 people, meaning they are fully vaccinated. An additional 341,000 people have received a single dose.
Appointments can be scheduled through covidvaccine.umc.edu or by calling 877-978-6453. Vaccinations sites in South Mississippi remain open.
Here are the cases in South Mississippi by county:
- George: 2,295 (2 new)
- Hancock: 3,377 (6 new)
- Harrison: 16,385 (22 new)
- Jackson: 12,401 (19 new)
- Pearl River: 4,070 (13 new)
- Stone: 1,707 (3 new)
Monday, Feb. 22
As the nation marked 500,000 lives lost to the coronavirus Monday, Mississippi did not report any new deaths, but the total stands at 6,553 dead.
Over the weekend, the six southern counties of South Mississippi surpassed 40,000 total cases since the pandemic began nearly a year ago. The death total is 759.
New cases and deaths have been decreasing dramatically after the post-holiday spike, and the curve has been starting to flatten.
The Mississippi State Department of Health reported 242 new cases of COVID-19. In South Mississippi, there were 37 new cases, the lowest number of new cases of the virus since Nov. 1.
The majority of new cases in the six southern counties of South Mississippi were reported in Harrison and Jackson counties, with 16 and 10 news cases respectively.
As of Monday, South Mississippi has a total of 40,170 cases of COVID-19 and 759 deaths.
As of Friday, MSDH reported 521 patients were hospitalized with confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 42 others hospitalized with suspected cases of the virus. Of those, 152 were in the intensive care unit and 89 of those patients were on ventilators.
The winter storm that dumped snow in the northern parts of the state led to the cancellation of vaccination appointments at many sites last week, though most had reopened by Monday.
The vaccines are available to anyone ages 65 or older and people with underlying health conditions that make them more vulnerable to severe illness and death from the coronavirus.
Appointments can be scheduled through covidvaccine.umc.edu or by calling 877-978-6453. Vaccinations sites in South Mississippi remain open.
Here are the cases in South Mississippi by county:
- George: 2,293 (0 new)
- Hancock: 3371 (5 new)
- Harrison: 16,363 (16 new)
- Jackson: 12,382 (10 new)
- Pearl River: 4,057 (6 new)
- Stone: 1,704 (0 new)
Sunday, Feb. 21
Mississippi reported 390 new cases of COVID-19 and no new deaths due to COVID-19 on Sunday.
MSDH reported 93 COVID-19 outbreaks in long-term care facilities statewide.
In South Mississippi, there were 71 new cases.
Here are the cases by county:
- George: 2,293 (0 new)
- Hancock: 3,366 (3 new)
- Harrison: 16,347 (32 new)
- Jackson: 12,372 (19 new)
- Pearl River: 4,051 (15 new)
- Stone: 1,704 (2 new)
This story was originally published February 22, 2021 at 11:23 AM.
