MS reports more than 3,000 new COVID-19 cases for the second day in a row.
For the second day in a row, Mississippi reported more than 3,000 new COVID-19 cases in a single day.
The state health department said 3,163 new cases were reported as of 3 p.m. Tuesday.
The department also reported 25 deaths due to COVID-19 between July 28 and Aug. 10.
In South Mississippi, there was one death in Jackson County and two in Pearl River County.
In the six South Mississippi counties, 695 new cases were reported Tuesday.
Hospital and public health officials say they’re seeing an alarming increase in pediatric COVID-19 cases during this fourth wave, driven by the highly contagious delta variant and low vaccination rates.
Nationally, 19% of people testing positive for COVID-19 are children.
On Tuesday night, state health officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs tweeted a link to a Wall Street Journal article that found “hospitalizations and deaths are rising more in places with weaker vaccination rates.” Mississippi’s vaccination rate for adults ages 18-64 is just 36.5%, behind every state except Alabama.
The vaccination rate for children under 18 is just 4.1%, tied with Alabama but ahead of Idaho, where only 0.2% of children are vaccinated, according to the Mayo Clinic. Children under 12 are not yet eligible for the vaccine.
Here are the latest case counts by county in South Mississippi:
- George: 3,127 (37 new)
- Hancock: 4,830 (105 new)
- Harrison: 23,382 (221 new)
- Jackson: 17,294 (208 new)
- Pearl River: 5,843 (98 new)
- Stone: 2,612 (26 new)
This story was originally published August 11, 2021 at 10:14 AM.
