Mississippi reports 2,746 new COVID-19 cases Wednesday, a new one-day record

Wednesday, Mississippi reported its highest one-day number of new COVID-19 cases to date. On the 15th consecutive day of reporting more than 1,000 new cases per day, the state reported 2,746 new cases.

The state’s seven-day average of new cases is nearing 2,000 per day, with 13,804 new cases reported in the last week. The highest seven-day average in July was around 1,360 for the week ending July 30.

Warren County reported 29 new cases Wednesday, putting the seven-day average at 25.9 cases per day. The 14-day total of new cases is 278, elevating the county into Gov. Tate Reeves hot spot definition and the probability of increased COVID-19 restrictions.

Hospitalizations are nearing the July high of around 1,250. Unlike the July surge, however, more patients are hospitalized with confirmed cases than ever before in the state, and hospitals statewide are reporting that no ICU beds are available.

Nationally, the cumulative cases in the U.S. have soared to over 15.2 million, and the rates of infection, hospitalization and deaths continue to rise. At least 2,597 people died of the virus Tuesday and 220,225 new cases were reported. As expected, the rate of deaths is increasing steeply, even as the rate of new infections slows. Deaths have increased 39% in the past two weeks. The number of people hospitalized across the nation now exceeds 104,600.

In Warren County, MSDH reported 29 new COVID-19 cases Wednesday and no new deaths. The cumulative number of cases in Warren County to date is 2,004, and the county’s death toll is 60. The seven-day average of new cases in the county has risen to 24.9 per day, almost five times higher than in early November when the average was about five cases per day.

Statewide, MSDH reported 2,746 new COVID-19 cases Wednesday, bringing the total cumulative confirmed cases in Mississippi to 170,672. The seven-day average of new cases is 1,972 per day, more than double the seven-day average a month ago, when the state’s numbers were already on the rise. The current averages far outstrip the numbers seen at the height of the last surge 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 Wednesday that 25 more Mississippians died of COVID-19 statewide. The cumulative number of deaths in the state is 4,041. The state’s rate of deaths to confirmed cases is about 2.5%. This rate has dropped 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.

The 24 deaths MSDH reported Wednesday occurred between Dec. 4 and Dec. 8 in the following counties:

New cases and deaths were reported to MSDH as of 6 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 8. 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 has risen steadily since Nov. 4. COVID-19 hospitalizations threaten the state’s health care system as never before.

The number of Mississippians hospitalized for the virus as of 6 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 8, was 1,241. The number includes 1,125 with confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 116 people with suspected but unconfirmed cases. Of those with confirmed infections, 288 were critically ill and in intensive care units and 159 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 136,627 through Sunday, Dec. 6. It represents about 80.1% of the cumulative 170,672 cases reported as of Wednesday, Dec. 9.

The number of cases in Warren County three weeks ago, Wednesday, Nov. 18, was 1,670, therefore the estimated number of people presumed recovered in the county is 1,610, or about 80.3% of the 2,004 cumulative cases reported as of Wednesday, Dec. 9. The county has an estimated 334 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, Dec. 5, is 1,436,626 or about 48.3% 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 estimated rate was 23.5% Tuesday, according to Johns Hopkins University. The national rate is 11.4%, and 5% or lower indicates adequate testing.

The total number of outbreaks in long-term care facilities is 203 Wednesday, a decrease of three since Tuesday. About 37.2%, or 1,505, of the state’s total deaths were people in long-term care facilities. The cumulative number of COVID-19 cases in LTC facilities is 8,141, about 4.8% of the state’s total cases.

A total of 27 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. 22.

For additional information, visit the MSDH website.