MS health department reports staggering 17,525 new COVID cases over New Year’s holiday
While friends and family were gathering to welcome 2022, COVID-19 was spreading across Mississippi.
The numbers the Mississippi State Department of Health released Monday — after three days of no reports — are startling.
Mississippi has 17,525 new cases since the last health department report on Thursday.
There were 7,058 new cases reported following the Christmas weekend.
An additional 5 people died over that time in the state, 1 of them in Hancock County.
The six counties in South Mississippi had 1,771 new cases reported Monday after the three day break. That is more than triple the 537 new cases reported after a four-day break in reporting over Christmas weekend.
The spike in new cases has brought a steep increase in the number of people hospitalized in Mississippi with COVID-19, although not as great an increase in ICU patients and those on ventilators.
From Dec. 20 to 29:
- Hospitalizations rose from 243 to 514
- ICU patients rose from 41 to 123
- Patients on ventilators rose from 41 to 57
On Dec. 30, the health department posted on social media that both the Delta and Omicron variants are active in the state, and cautioned residents that indoor gatherings carry a high risk of rapidly spreading COVID-19.
Memorial Hospital at Gulfport said Monday that the health system will close vaccine clinics in Bay St. Louis and Biloxi until further notice as the demand for testing rises.
“We’re closing to dedicate these resources to testing in other locations,” said Erin Rosetti, communications manager for Memorial.
With the two-year anniversary of the start of the pandemic nearing, totals now stand at:
▪ 561,262 total cases in the state
▪ 10,455 deaths attributed to COVID-19 in Mississippi
▪ 90,517 total cases, 1,487 deaths in 6 counties of South Mississippi
This story was originally published January 3, 2022 at 1:45 PM.
