53 COVID-19 deaths and 665 new cases reported in Mississippi Tuesday

The seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases in Mississippi remains above 1,200 Tuesday, even with the expected weekend dip in reporting. The number of deaths reported, 53, is the highest one day total since late August.

Nationwide, the COVID-19 virus is raging, with more than 179,000 new cases reported Monday and over 1,000 deaths. Seven and 14-day averages continue to rise from coast-to-coast, with largest increases in the Midwest and the northern central tier of states. And, despite warnings not to travel for the Thanksgiving holiday, airline travel has increased sharply, with about 2 million people screened at the nation’s airports in the last couple of days.

In Warren County, the Mississippi State Department of Health reported one new COVID-19 case Tuesday and no new deaths. The cumulative number of cases in Warren County to date is 1,722, and the county’s death toll is 57. The county has yet to see the kinds of case increases seen in Mississippi or in the nation.

Statewide, MSDH reported 665 new COVID-19 cases Tuesday bringing the total cumulative confirmed cases in Mississippi to 144,544. The seven-day average of new cases is 1,249 per day, about 523 cases higher than the seven-day average a month ago. The average is on par with numbers seen in July.

At the beginning of the crises, the age group with the most COVID-19 cases were those over 65. Now, most new cases are seen in younger people who are more likely to survive the virus than those 65 and older. In September, the age group reporting the most cases in Mississippi were 18 to 24 years old. That has shifted to a slightly older group. In November, the age group reporting the most cases in Mississippi are from 25 to 39 years old followed by those 50 to 64 years old.

MSDH reported Tuesday that 53 more Mississippians died of COVID-19 statewide, the highest number of deaths reported in a single day since Aug. 26 when 58 deaths were reported. The cumulative number of deaths in the state is 3,729. The state’s rate of deaths to confirmed cases is about 2.6%. This rate has dropped slightly as the number of cases are going up faster than the number of deaths at this time.

Deaths are a lagging indicator. While July saw the highest number of new cases since the crisis began, August saw the highest number of deaths. The highest number of deaths in any one day in Mississippi was 67 reported Aug. 25.

Of the 53 deaths MSDH reported Tuesday, 31 occurred between Nov. 13 and Nov. 23 in the following counties:

An additional 22 COVID-19 related deaths occurred between Oct. 15 and Nov. 18 and were identified from death certificate reports.

New cases and deaths were reported to MSDH as of 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 23. MSDH usually reports statistics on the COVID-19 coronavirus each day based on the previous day’s testing and death reports.

The primary metric concerning state health officials are the numbers of people hospitalized, and that number rose steadily with the rise of new cases in July and August. On June 6, the number of Mississippians hospitalized with confirmed cases of COVID-19 was at 358. Hospitalizations tripled by late July.

Hospitalizations then steadily dropped through Oct. 3 when they began rising again along with increased cases. The last week in October, hospitalizations began levelling off; however, since Nov. 4 hospitals have seen a steady rise in COVID-19 patients once again.

The number of Mississippians hospitalized for the virus as of 6 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 22, was 1,014, about 84% of the late July peak of about 1,200. The number includes 910 with confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 104 people with suspected but unconfirmed cases. Of those with confirmed infections, 213 were critically ill and in intensive care units and 102 were on ventilators.

Source: MSDH

MSDH has estimated the number of people who can be presumed recovered from COVID-19 in Mississippi. That number is 121,637 through Sunday, Nov. 22. It represents about 84.2% of the cumulative 144,544 cases reported as of Tuesday, Nov. 24.

The number of cases in Warren County three weeks ago, Tuesday, Nov. 3, was 1,584, therefore the estimated number of people presumed recovered in the county is 1,527, or about 88.7% of the 1,722 cumulative cases reported as of Tuesday, Nov. 24. The county has an estimated 138 active cases.

These estimates are based on MSDH’s guidelines for calculating estimated recoveries when hospitalizations are not known, using the number of cases 21 days ago, less known outcomes (deaths).

The total number of Mississippians tested for COVID-19 (PCR and antigen tests identifying current infections) as of Saturday, Nov. 21, is 1,237,802 or about 41.6% of the state’s 2.976 million residents. MSDH reports statewide test results once a week. Without daily updated numbers of tests, it is impossible to accurately calculate Mississippi’s positivity rate (positive results to tests, seven-day average); however, the rate was 18.2% Monday, according to Johns Hopkins University. The national rate is 9.6%, and 5% or lower indicates adequate testing.

The total number of outbreaks in long-term care facilities was 153 Tuesday, a decrease of 19 since Monday. About 38.1%, or 1,419, of the state’s total deaths were people in long-term care facilities. The cumulative number of COVID-19 cases in LTC facilities is 7,449, about 5.2% of the state’s total cases.

A total of 26 deaths in Warren County were residents of LTC facilities.

MSDH is no longer reporting outbreaks in individual long-term care facilities in Mississippi and has replaced it with access to a database from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid. You can access and search the data by provider here. The latest data available is for the week ending Nov. 8.

For additional information, visit the MSDH website.