COVID-19 has broken the MSDH website

COVID-19 has taxed the Mississippi State Department of Health website beyond its capabilities.

Over the past couple of weeks, updates on the website have been delayed several times. Friday, the site shows statewide new case and death counts for Thursday. No county-level data has been provided, and the many demographic and hospitalization breakdowns are several days old.

Thursday, 381 new cases were reported bringing the statewide cumulative case count in Mississippi to 21,022. The number of deaths in the state from the virus Thursday is five, bringing the death count to 943. The state’s mortality rate for the virus is about 4.5%.

No other updated information is available at this time.

The agency posted the following statement on its website and social media accounts Friday:

The Mississippi State Department of Health apologizes for the interruption of COVID-19 data. The agency is working to address legacy software issues impacting its ability to create detailed reports.

Further detailed data reports and most charts will not be available until the agency resolves these software issues. In the meantime, we will continue to provide daily case counts and deaths on our website and social media.

MSDH epidemiologists must ensure the accuracy of each case and death and their associated data. Our focus will remain on quality data and accuracy rather than speed. We appreciate the importance of detailed data reporting, and hope to rectify this situation as quickly as possible while working to create a long-term, reliable solution.

The Vicksburg Daily News will continue to bring you as much information as possible on the COVID-19 crisis in Mississippi, including data for Warren County as soon as it becomes available.