Mississippi reports another spike in new COVID-19 cases with 327; Warren County reports two new cases

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The Mississippi State Department of Health is reporting another big increase in new COVID-19 cases Monday, with 327 cases. New cases were reported as of 6 p.m. Sunday, May 3, bringing the total cases to 7,877.

In an interview Sunday, Gov. Tate Reeves indicated that the 397 cases reported Friday was due to a data dump over an unspecified period from one private laboratory, not a big one-day spike.

MSDH is reporting seven additional deaths. The number of deaths in the state now number 310.

MSDH is reporting an additional two confirmed COVID-19 cases in Warren County bringing the cumulative number of cases to 83 on Sunday. The county’s death toll is unchanged and stands at two. Five cases in two long-term care facilities are under investigation.

The number of estimated COVID-19 cases presumed recovered in Mississippi is 4,421 as of Sunday, May 3. This figure will be updated weekly.

MSDH reports new statistics on the COVID-19 coronavirus each morning based on the previous day’s testing and death reports.

The number of individual cases in long-term care facilities total 915, an increase of 26 since yesterday, and deaths among residents total 125, an increase of two. The number of facilities under active investigation is 109, up nine since yesterday,. Even one case is a long-term care facility is considered an outbreak because of the ages and poor health of many residents. Long-term care facilities include nursing homes, intermediate care facilities for individuals with intellectual disabilities, personal care homes, assisted living facilities, long-term acute care facilities, and psychiatric or chemical dependency residential treatment centers.

Neighboring Hinds County, still the state’s virus epicenter, is reporting 542 cases as of Monday, an increase of 35 since yesterday, and nine deaths, up one, five of which were residents in long-term care facilities. Sixteen cases in long-term care facilities are under investigation in Hinds County.

In other neighboring counties, Claiborne reports 30 cases, up two since yesterday, and Sharkey reports five cases, unchanged. Neither Claiborne nor Sharkey has any reported deaths from the virus, nor have they reported outbreaks in long-term care facilities. Yazoo County reports 151 cases, up four since yesterday, and two deaths. Issaquena County remains the only county in the state without any reported cases.

In all, 21 Mississippi counties are reporting more than 125 cases each, and 11 counties report more than 200 cases. Deaths reported in the counties are in the single digits except for Forrest (14, unchanged), Holmes (10), Lauderdale (27, up one), Leflore (17, unchanged), Lincoln (11, unchanged), Madison (10), Monroe (16, unchanged), Pearl River (20, unchanged), and Tippah (10, unchanged) counties. Holmes and Madison counties were added to that list today.

Cases and deaths from the virus are heavily skewed toward African Americans, and MSDH is reporting racial breakdowns of each county’s statistics, available on its website. As of today, 56.6% of cases (4,070) and 57.1% of COVID-19 deaths (176) in Mississippi were among African Americans.

Almost all the COVID-19 deaths in Mississippi occurred among people with underlying health conditions, including obesity, lung disease and diabetes. The health of African Americans is contributing to their higher rate of infection and death from COVID-19.

COVID-19 cases are also skewed toward women, with 59% of cases among women.

Source: MSDH

All age groups have been affected by the disease, including children under 18, with 286 cases, up 24 since yesterday. As of today, MSDH reports 25 cases in infants less than one year old, up six since yesterday. No deaths among juveniles have been reported in Mississippi.

Deaths and hospitalizations from the virus occur most frequently among those 60 and older. As of Sunday evening, 836 of Mississippi’s cumulative 1,318 hospitalizations, or 63.4%, were among people over 60, and 88.7% of the state’s deaths (275) have been people over 60.

Current hospitalizations dropped by 26 Sunday after increasing on Saturday by 34. Total hospitalized with confirmed COVID-19 infections is 442 patients. Another 204 hospitalized patients are suspected of being infected but have not been confirmed for the virus. The overall trend for patients in intensive care units and on ventilators seems to be holding fairly steady.

Mississippi’s rate of hospitalizations for those diagnosed with COVID-19 is below the national average. From a high of more than 30%, the rate stands at 19% as of today. The national average for hospitalizations has seen a steady rise and now stands at 40.4 per 100,000 for the week ending April 25, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; however, the rate skyrockets to 131.6 per 100,000 for those 65 and older.

The number of people tested in Mississippi as of May 3 is 79,677, with 66,310 tests, or about 83%, performed by private labs. About 9.9% of the tests had a positive result based on the total number of confirmed cases in the state. As more asymptomatic people are tested, the actual rate of infection will become clear. To date, Mississippi has tested about 2.7% of the total population.

Anyone with symptoms of fever, severe cough or severe chest pains – especially those who are older or in poor health – should arrange for testing with their doctor or one of the many health-care providers now performing testing, although not having a fever may not eliminate you from being tested. Health-care providers can assess your health history and symptoms and perform testing for COVID-19 as needed. MSDH is also helping conduct free drive-up testing sites in many parts of the state. Always call ahead to the testing provider for instructions on safely being examined before you visit for your test.

Find a COVID-19 testing provider near you

For more information, visit the MSDH website or call the hotline at 877-978-6453, available seven days a week from 7 a.m. until 11 p.m.

Mississippi COVID-19 total cases and deaths, and long-term care facility cases and deaths to date: