MS breaks record for most new COVID cases in a single day as students return to school
The Mississippi State Department of Health on Wednesday reported 6,592 new coronavirus cases, the most the state has seen in a single day since the start of the pandemic.
The previous one-day total in Mississippi was 5,048 during the last spike in cases on Aug. 20.
While the state reported 11 new COVID-19 deaths Wednesday, none of them were in the six southern counties. Two deaths reported in Hancock County this week were in long term care facilities.
South Mississippi’s 1,216 new cases Wednesday is the most since Aug. 13.
The daily increase by county is:
George — 42
Hancock — 124
Harrison — 516
Jackson — 370
Pearl River — 128
Stone — 36
Most of these new cases are the omicron variant, the health department said, and had warned that the highly-contagious variant would spread quickly as friends and family gathered over the Christmas and New Year holidays.
With kids starting back to school Tuesday and Wednesday, the numbers could continue to climb, top doctors in the state have said.
Those experiencing symptoms are experiencing waits to get tested and no self-test kits available at local stores.
This story was originally published January 5, 2022 at 1:19 PM.
