New COVID-19 cases in Mississippi under 1,000 again Wednesday

Hospitalizations across Mississippi continued on a clear downward trend Wednesday, as new COVID-19 cases stayed under 1,000.

In Warren County, the Mississippi State Department of Health reported 14 new COVID-19 cases Wednesday and no new deaths. The cumulative number of cases in the county to date is 1,274, and the county’s death toll is 43.

Statewide, MSDH reported 904 new COVID-19 cases Wednesday, bringing the total cumulative confirmed cases in Mississippi to 80,110. With all of the last seven days reporting fewer than 1,000 cases, the seven-day average of new cases is 793.

MSDH reported Wednesday that 58 Mississippians died of COVID-19 statewide, bringing the total number of deaths in the state to 2,373. The state’s rate of deaths to confirmed cases is about 3%.

Deaths can lag new cases by two weeks or more, which may be one reason deaths in the state had not risen dramatically until July 7 when 44 deaths were reported. The highest number of deaths in any one day was 67 reported Aug. 25. 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 age group reporting the most cases in Mississippi are young people from 18 to 29 years old.

MSDH reported deaths in the following counties Wednesday:

Forty-four confirmed COVID-19 related deaths between July 21 and Aug. 18 were identified from death certificate reports.

Deaths and new cases were reported as of 6 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 25. MSDH usually reports new 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. On June 6, the number of Mississippians hospitalized with confirmed cases of COVID-19 was at 358. Hospitalizations nearly tripled by late July. They have leveled off in the past couple of weeks and are now dropping including critical cases and numbers of people requiring ventilators.

The number of Mississippians hospitalized for the virus as of 6 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 25, is 908, showing a clear downward trend after peaking in late July and early August. The number includes 730 with confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 148 people with suspected but unconfirmed cases. Of those with confirmed infections, 232 were critically ill and in intensive care units and 119 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 62,707 through Sunday, Aug. 23. This figure is updated weekly. It represents about 78.3% of the cumulative 80,110 cases reported as of Wednesday, Aug. 26.

The number of cases in Warren County three weeks ago, Wednesday, Aug. 5, was 995, therefore the estimated number of people presumed recovered in the county is 952, or about 74.7% of the 1,274 cumulative cases reported Wednesday, Aug. 26. The county has an estimated 279 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 tests) as of Monday, Aug. 24, is 544,283 or about 18.3% of the state’s 2.976 million residents. The positivity rate (positive results to tests, seven-day average) was 27.4% Tuesday, down from 40.8% Sunday, according to Johns Hopkins University, indicating Mississippi is not testing nearly enough, and results are probably an undercount of actual infections. The national rate is currently 6%, and a rate of 5% or less indicates adequate testing. Mississippi’s positivity rate has been the highest or among the highest in the nation for weeks.

The total number of outbreaks in long-term care facilities is 175 Wednesday. About 41.1%, or 976, of the state’s total deaths were people in long-term care facilities. Thirteen of the 58 deaths reported Wednesday were in long-term care facilities.

In Warren County as of 6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 20, MSDH reported that three long-term facilities were under investigation for active COVID-19 outbreaks:

• Shady Lawn had seven cases among staff, 32 cases among residents and nine resident deaths.
• The Bluffs had 15 cases among staff, 44 cases among residents and three resident deaths.
• Vicksburg Convalescent had 11 cases among staff, four cases among residents and no resident deaths.

A total of 19 deaths in the county were residents of LTC facilities.

For additional information, visit the MSDH website.