Mississippi has highest COVID spread in the US, with new cases exploding on the Coast
Mississippi has 7,249 new COVID-19 cases and has surpassed 8,047 deaths with weekend numbers reported Monday morning by the State Department of Health.
The weekend case total was surpassed only by the 7,839 cases reported a week ago as the delta variant spreads in Mississippi, which has no mask mandate, even for schools, and one of the lowest vaccination rates in the nation.
South Mississippi accounted for 1,976 new cases, or 27.25% of cases reported statewide.
The high spread of COVID is likely to continue in Mississippi, which also has the second-highest rate of residents testing positive for the virus at 42.4%, topped only by Oklahoma at 81%.
On Sunday, Mississippi also had more COVID cases per capita than any state, with an average of 120 cases reported per 100,000 population, according to a New York Times database of public health reports. Cases have increased by 71% over 14 days, the database shows.
So many Mississippians are coming down with COVID that hospitals are overflowing, with patients being treated in emergency rooms and waiting for beds statewide.
Mississippi hit 25,202 cases in one week for the week ending Aug. 20, compared to 22,998 cases for the week ending Aug. 13. Total cases for the week ending Aug. 20 in South Mississippi were 4,761, down from 5,775 for the week ending Aug. 13.
In South Mississippi, we topped out at 5,775 new cases on Aug. 13 and had 5,761 new cases on Aug. 20.
The MSDH is reporting 178 ongoing outbreaks in long-term care facilities.
Mask mandates mixed in schools districts
By Aug. 19, the highest number of COVID cases was in the 25-39 age group at 92,136, MSDH statistics show. Cases also have increased markedly for children, with 11,154 cases in children 0-5 and 50,834 cases in the 5-17 age group.
While cases climbed, Gov. Tate Reeves has said he will not issue a mask mandate or order lockdowns. The Mississippi Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics has had limited success pleading with school districts and superintendents to initiate mask mandates in their districts.
The Mississippi Chapter and Children’s of Mississippi hospital sent the request a month ago to superintendents, the state Department of Education and Reeves, chapter president Dr. Anita Henderson wrote Sunday on Twitter.
“Some school boards agreed but many did not,” Henderson tweeted. “No(w) we face rampant transmission of COVID in Mississippi.
Majority of COVID cases in unvaccinated
COVID is now a disease of the unvaccinated, Reeves and State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs have said.
As of Aug. 19, 98% of cases, 89% of hospitalizations and 87% of deaths were in the unvaccinated.
The MSDH, nonprofit groups, and others are offering incentives and promoting vaccination drives to try and get more residents vaccinated.
In South Mississippi, the vaccination rate is below the state average. By Aug. 20, an average of 37% of Mississippians were fully vaccinated, a number that is increasing as more cases and deaths are reported in the unvaccinated.
On the Coast, Harrison County has the highest vaccination rate at 32%, with Hancock and Pearl River counties reporting the lowest rates at 25%.
South Mississippi’s new cases reported over the weekend and total cases are below:
- George County: 3,698 cases, 58 new
- Hancock County: 5,982 cases, 200 new
- Harrison County: 27,625 cases, 955 new
- Jackson County: 19,808 cases, 437 new
- Pearl River County: 7,002 cases, 252 new
- Stone County: 3,009 cases, 74 new
This story was originally published August 23, 2021 at 10:53 AM.
