MS reports thousands of new weekend COVID cases, the most since January
Mississippi recorded 2,326 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, the highest one-day figure since January and the first time new cases have been over 1,000 since February.
Case totals are often higher on Monday because the health department stopped reporting cases over the weekend, so Monday’s figure represents several days’ worth of cases. Even so, it was dramatically higher than the figures reported on recent Mondays: 796 on July 12 and 649 on July 6 (the Tuesday after the July 4 holiday).
Monday’s figure reflects cases reported to the health department from July 16-18. That’s an average of 775 cases per day, higher than the one-day figure for any day last week except Monday.
A state health department spokesperson confirmed to the Sun Herald that Monday’s figure was accurate.
Dr. Thomas Dobbs, the state’s health officer, tweeted that the new cases are likely part of a surge from the July 4 weekend.
“Very sad indeed,” Dobbs wrote on Twitter. “Didn’t have to be this way. 4th wave is here.”
The statewide figure included 467 new cases in the six counties of South Mississippi. During all of last week, there were only 462 cases in the region.
Harrison County reported half of the new cases, with 232.
In recent weeks, Dobbs and other state health officials have attributed rising case numbers to the spread of the highly contagious delta variant and the state’s low vaccination rate, currently stuck at 31% of the population fully vaccinated.
On Sunday, Dobbs wrote on Twitter that ICU availability was tightening again. Last week, officials at Memorial and Singing River hospitals told the Sun Herald they were seeing more coronavirus cases.
But most Coast ICUs still have beds available and relatively few COVID patients in treatment.
As of July 15, Singing River in Pascagoula was treating one adult patient with COVID-19 and had one bed available, out of 16 beds toatl. Singing River in Ocean Springs had four COVID patients and two beds available, of 24. At Merit, six of nine ICU beds were occupied by COVID patients, and no beds were available.
At Memorial in Gulfport, COVID patients occupied two of 38 ICU beds, and 16 beds were available.
Monday’s coronavirus report also listed three new deaths, one each in Rankin, DeSoto and Copiah Counties.
The state also reported 40 ongoing coronavirus outbreaks in long-term care facilities.
Here are Monday’s case numbers for each county in South Mississippi:
- George: 17
- Hancock: 36
- Harrison: 232
- Jackson: 85
- Pearl River: 46
- Stone: 51
This story was originally published July 19, 2021 at 9:40 AM.
