Another 1,000+ COVID-19 new cases reported in Mississippi, 24 in Warren County

Mississippi is seeing a second time of more than 1,000 new COVID-19 cases Friday, and hospitalizations for the virus are also breaking records.

The Mississippi State Department of Health reports 24 new COVID-19 cases in Warren County Friday, the second highest number since the crises began, bringing the cumulative number of cases in the county to 577. The highest number of new cases was 33 reported July 3, one week ago.

No new deaths were reported Friday in the county, leaving the death toll at 20.

As of Thursday, July 2, MSDH reports that Belmont Gardens and The Bluffs Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center are under investigation for active COVID-19 outbreaks in Warren County. Belmont Gardens has two COVID-19 cases among staff, and The Bluffs has one case among staff. Deaths in the county include nine residents of Heritage House Nursing Center.

Statewide, MSDH reports 1,031 new COVID-19 cases Friday, another big jump, bringing the total cumulative confirmed cases in Mississippi to 34,622

MSDH reports that 11 Mississippians died of COVID-19 statewide Friday, bringing the total number of deaths in the state to 1,215. Nearly half of the state’s deaths were people in long-term care facilities. The state’s mortality rate of deaths to confirmed cases is about 3.5%, a rate that has been falling very slowly for a few weeks.

The numbers of deaths can lag new cases by as long as two weeks or more, which may be one reason deaths in the state have not risen dramatically until Tuesday when 44 deaths were reported. In addition, most new cases are seen in younger people recently, and they are more likely to survive the virus than those 65 and older. By far, the largest age group reporting cases in Mississippi are young people from 18 to 29 years old.

COVID-19 deaths are reported in the following counties Friday:

Deaths and new cases were reported as of 6 p.m. Thursday, July 9. MSDH usually reports new statistics on the COVID-19 coronavirus each day based on the previous day’s testing and death reports.

MSDH has estimated the number of people who can be presumed recovered from COVID-19 in Mississippi. That number is 22,167 through Sunday, July 5. This figure is updated weekly. It represents about 64% of the cumulative 34,622 cases reported as of Friday, July 10.

The number of cases in Warren County three weeks ago on June 19 was 300, therefore the estimated number of people presumed recovered in the county July 10 is 280, or about 48.5% of the 577 cumulative cases reported Friday, July 10. The county has an estimated 277 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).

(MSDH did not report county-level COVID-19 data from June 18 to June 21. On June 22, the agency reported 51 new cases in Warren County for five days. To calculate estimates for presumed recovered and active cases, The Vicksburg Daily News is adding 10 cases for the next four days and 11 cases for the fifth day.)

The primary metric concerning state health officials are the numbers of people hospitalized, and that number has been steadily rising with new cases. This week, health officials warned repeatedly that some hospitals are out of ICU beds.

Mississippians hospitalized for the virus as of 6 p.m. Thursday, July 9, is 1,081, the first time more than 1,000 people have been hospitalized. The number includes 711 with confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 270 people with suspected but unconfirmed cases. Of those with confirmed infections, 205 were critically ill and in intensive care units, another record, and 103 were on ventilators.

Source: MSDH

For additional information, visit the MSDH website.