Mississippi adds 1,256 new COVID-19 cases Wednesday; 7-day average over 1,000

Mississippi reported the third day of more than 1,000 new COVID-19 cases in the past seven days, pushing the seven-day average over 1,000 cases per day.

Nationally, Tuesday set another record in new cases, reporting at least 139,855. That number brings the seven-day average to 123,315, nearly 70% higher than the average two weeks ago. While deaths haven’t skyrocketed the way cases have, at least 1,448 deaths were reported Tuesday nationwide, a rise of 23% in the seven-day average.

In Warren County, the Mississippi State Department of Health reported five new COVID-19 cases Wednesday and no new deaths. The cumulative number of cases in Warren County to date is 1,630, and the county’s death toll is 56.

Statewide, MSDH reported 1,256 new COVID-19 cases Wednesday, bringing the total cumulative confirmed cases in Mississippi to 129,394. The seven-day average of new cases is 1,017, about 64% (370 cases) higher than a month ago and on par with numbers in late July and early August.

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 older groups. 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 Wednesday that 17 more Mississippians died of COVID-19 statewide. The cumulative number of deaths in the state is 3,497. The state’s rate of deaths to confirmed cases is about 2.7%.

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 was 67 reported Aug. 25.

Of the 17 deaths MSDH reported Wednesday, 15 occurred between Oct. 31 and Nov. 10 in the following counties:

Two COVID-19 related deaths occurred between Nov. 1 and Nov. 2 and were identified from death certificate reports.

New cases and deaths were reported to MSDH as of 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 10. 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, the past seven days have seen a steady rise in hospitalizations once again.

The number of Mississippians hospitalized for the virus as of 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 10, was 756, well over half of the late July peak of about 1,200. The number includes 669 with confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 87 people with suspected but unconfirmed cases. Of those with confirmed infections, 191 were critically ill and in intensive care units and 78 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 111,430 through Sunday, Nov. 8. This figure is updated weekly. It represents about 86.1% of the cumulative 129,394 cases reported as of Wednesday, Nov. 11.

The number of cases in Warren County three weeks ago, Wednesday, Oct. 21, was 1,532, therefore the estimated number of people presumed recovered in the county is 1,476, or about 90.6% of the 1,630 cumulative cases reported as of Wednesday, Nov. 11. The county has an estimated 98 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. 7 (the latest statewide testing results reported by MSDH), is 1,105,638 or about 37.2% of the state’s 2.976 million residents. 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 14.7% Monday, according to Johns Hopkins University. The national rate is 8.3%, and 5% or lower indicates adequate testing.

The total number of outbreaks in long-term care facilities was 123 Wednesday. About 38.8%, or 1,358, of the state’s total deaths were people in long-term care facilities.

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 Oct. 25.

For additional information, visit the MSDH website.