40,000 residents of South Mississippi now have tested positive for COVID-19

More than 40,000 people in South Mississippi have tested positive for the coronavirus since the first case in the state was identified on March 11.

That means 8.2% of the 491,305 estimated residents in the six counties of South Mississippi have tested positive for COVID-19.

The figures show that 1.9% of those who tested positive in South Mississippi died from the virus.

The total now stands at 40,062 cases and 759 deaths in South Mississippi, with 75 new cases and four additional deaths identified Saturday by Mississippi Department of Health. One death in Pearl River County occurred between Feb. 16 and 19, and two deaths in Harrison County and one in Jackson County were identified by reviewing death certificates between Dec. 15 and Feb. 13.

Another 350 cases and 19 deaths were reported statewide Saturday. The totals now are 290,242 cases and 6,553 deaths.

Through Feb. 19, the state reports 328,670 people have received the first COVID-19 vaccine and 133,085 the second dose.

Most notable in Saturday’s report is the continued decrease in cases in Mississippi. The seven-day average has fallen to 557 — a third of what it was a month ago, when an average of 1,847 people were testing positive each day.

The peak came on Jan. 10, with a seven-day average of 2,432 cases.

The death rate in the state is down to a seven-day average of 13 per day, a low not seen since Nov. 6.

Hospitalizations for the coronavirus, which peaked after the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, also continue to fall. Residents hospitalized with COVID-19 has dropped to 519 through Feb. 18 from 898 on Feb. 1. The number of COVID-19 patients in ICU is down to 168 from 262 and 168 are on ventilators compared to 262.

The health department estimates 264,456 people in the state have recovered from the coronavirus.

The breakdown of cases in South Mississippi is:

George — 2,293 (7 new)

Hancock — 3,363 (8 new)

Harrison — 16,315 (24 new)

Jackson — 12,253 (21 new)

Pearl River — 4,036 (13 new)

Stone — 1,702 (2 new)

Friday, Feb. 20

The state on Friday reported 360 new cases of COVID-19 and 3 deaths, including one in Harrison County.

Mississippi now has had a total of 289,892 coronavirus cases and 6,534 deaths, the State Department of Health reports. With cases tapering off, the seven-day average for daily cases is now 606.29, the lowest it has been since Oct. 9, when the seven-day average was 589 cases.

The six counties in South Mississippi now have a total of 39,987 coronavirus cases and 755 deaths.

However, Mississippi has administered only 14,729 first and second vaccine doses per 100,000 residents, the lowest of any state with the exception of Alabama and Kansas, a vaccine tracker updated Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows.

The CDC reports that 318,006 Mississippians had received first doses. The state closed vaccinations sites during inclement weather this week.

Mississippi’s COVID-19 numbers are trending down as a mask mandate remains in force until March 3 for 72 or the state’s 82 counties, including all those in South Mississippi.

Hospitalizations also are trending downward from post-holiday highs.

Below are COVID-19 numbers for South Mississippi. New cases are included for the past two days because no daily report was available Thursday, so new case totals for Friday would include both days.

• George: 45 (0 new cases)
• Hancock: 3,355 (2 new cases)
• Harrison: 16,291 (59 new cases)
• Jackson: 12,332 (32 new cases)
• Pearl River: 4,023 (19 new cases)
• Stone: 1,700 (5 new cases)

Thursday, Feb. 19

The Mississippi Department of Health reported 134 new cases of COVID-19 and seven deaths on Thursday after there was limited reporting of data due to the loss of power.

“We will have limited COVID-19 reporting today as we work to return our website to operation after power loss. Thank you for your patience,” MSDH said in a post on Twitter.

Wednesday, Feb. 17

The Mississippi Department of Health reported 684 new cases of COVID-19 and 23 deaths Wednesday.

“MS is making great progress against COVID,” State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs tweeted Monday. “Please continue to wear masks in public and limit social gatherings. Plan to limit Spring Break travel and keep it nuclear (within the household)“

Five of the new deaths occurred in the state’s six most southern counties — 1 new death each in George, Hancock and Jackson counties and 2 new deaths in Harrison County.

The state continues to see a a dip in new COVID-19 cases, with the seven-day average dropping to 806, the lowest drop in the seven-day average since mid November.

The number of deaths attributed to the virus also continued to decline slightly Wednesday, with the seven-day average of new deaths at 22.

As of Feb. 15, there were 564 people hospitalized with confirmed cases of new COVID-19 with an additional patients suspected of having the virus. Of those with confirmed cases of COVID-19, 157 patients were in ICU and 97 were on ventilators, according to MSDH.

The health department said thousands of new first-dose appointments for the COVID-19 vaccine are currently available.

The vaccines are available to anyone ages 65 or older and people with underlying health conditions that make them more susceptible to severe illness and death from the coronavirus.

Appointments can be scheduled through covidvaccine.umc.edu or by calling 877-978-6453.

COVID-19 cases in South Mississippi:

• George County — 2,275 ( 7new cases)
• Hancock County — 3,354 (20 new cases)
• Harrison County — 16,232 (70 new cases)
• Jackson County — 12,300 (53 new cases)
• Pearl River County — 4,004 (19 new cases)
• Stone County — 1,695 (4 new cases)

Tuesday, Feb. 16

MSDH reported 734 new cases of COVID-19 and 37 deaths on Tuesday.

Ten of the deaths were reported in the state’s southernmost six counties — six in Harrison County, three in Pearl River County and one in Jackson County.

State-wide, the number of COVID-19 deaths in South Mississippi does appear to be dropping. The seven-day average for deaths is now 23 after topping out at 51 on Jan. 17.

As of Feb. 14, there were 572 people hospitalized in Mississippi with confirmed cases of COVID-19. Of that group, 153 were in intensive care and 96 were on ventilators.

COVID-19 cases in South Mississippi:

• George County — 2,268 (7 new cases)
• Hancock County — 3,334 (14 new cases)
• Harrison County — 16,162 (45 new cases)
• Jackson County — 12,247 (39 new cases)
• Pearl River County — 3,985 (16 new cases)
• Stone County — 1,691 (11 new cases)

Vaccine sites reopen

MSDH announced its vaccination sites in Harrison, Jackson, Forrest and Jones counties are open Wednesday after a temporary closure due to severe winter weather. All others will remain closed.

County health departments, WIC centers and MSDH offices also will be open in South Mississippi and the Hattiesburg area, but those further north will remain closed.

Monday, Feb. 15

All Mississippi State Department of Health vaccination sites are closed Tuesday for the winter storm except for the Coast Coliseum in Harrison County.

All MSDH sites also were closed Monday due to the winter storm bearing down on Mississippi. In Harrison and Jackson counties, appointments scheduled for Monday will be rescheduled for the same time on Feb. 20. A rescheduled date for Tuesday appointments has not yet been announced.

The state health department reported 85 new COVID-19 cases in South Mississippi on Monday morning.

Statewide, there were 544 new cases and two reported deaths, one each in Forrest and Lamar counties.

Most new cases on the Coast were reported in Harrison and Jackson counties, with 35 and 27 new cases respectively.

The figures bring the total number of COVID-19 cases in South Mississippi to 39,553. The total number of deaths due to COVID-19 in the region is 738.

Though new cases have been falling for several weeks as the post-holiday surge subsides, the test positivity rate in several South Mississippi counties has still been high recently, according to data for the week ending Feb. 6.

Public health experts say that figure, which is the percentage of COVID-19 tests administered that come back positive, is a measure of how widespread infection is in a community. Any figure about 5% indicates that governments should keep restrictions in place and increase testing.

For the week ending Feb. 6, 25.1% of tests administered in Jackson County came back positive. In Harrison County, the figure was 11.5%. In Hancock, it was 7.3%.

Here are the total and new cases in South Mississippi by county:

• George: 2,261 (4 new)
• Hancock: 3,320 (5 new)
• Harrison: 16,117 (35 new)
• Jackson: 12,206 (27 new)
• Pearl River: 3,969 (11 new)
• Stone: 1,680 (3 new)

Data for Sunday, Feb. 14

Mississippi reported two new deaths due to COVID-19 on Sunday, and one of them took place in Jackson County.

The state reported 1,093 new cases. After six days of decline in the seven-day average for new cases, the figure ticked up from 795 on Saturday to 822. But that number is lower than the one recorded last Sunday, Feb. 7, of 953.

In South Mississippi, there were 138 new cases.

Here are the cases by county:

• George: 2,257 (11 new)
• Hancock: 3,315 (15 new)
• Harrison: 16,082 (58 new)
• Jackson: 12,179 (38 new)
• Pearl River: 3,958 (5 new)
• Stone: 1,677 (11 new)

This story was originally published February 15, 2021 at 10:56 AM.