New COVID-19 cases see another big spike with 990 Saturday, 15 in Warren County

Hospitalizations and new cases for COVID-19 remain in record territory Saturday.

The Mississippi State Department of Health reports 15 new COVID-19 cases in Warren County Saturday, bringing the cumulative number of cases in the county to 511.

No new deaths were reported Saturday in Warren County, leaving the county’s death toll at 18.

Deaths in the county include nine residents of Heritage House Nursing Center. As of Thursday, July 2, MSDH reports that Belmont Gardens and The Bluffs Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center are under investigation for active COVID-19 outbreaks. Belmont Gardens has two COVID-19 cases among staff, and The Bluffs has one case among staff.

Statewide, MSDH reports 990 new COVID-19 cases Saturday, bringing the total cumulative confirmed cases in Mississippi to 30,674. The number has only been topped once, with 1,092 cases reported June 25.

MSDH reports that four Mississippians died of COVID-19 statewide Saturday, bringing the total number of deaths in the state to 1,107. Nearly half of the state’s deaths, 537, were people in long-term care facilities. The state’s mortality rate of deaths to confirmed cases is about 3.6%, a rate that has been falling slowly for a few weeks.

The numbers of deaths can lag new cases by as long as two weeks or more, which may be one reason deaths in the state have not risen dramatically. 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 largest age group reporting cases in Mississippi are young people from 18 to 29 years old, while deaths are seen primarily in those 65 and older.

SOURCE: MSDH

COVID-19 deaths are reported in the following counties Saturday:

Deaths and new cases were reported as of 6 p.m. Friday, July 3. MSDH usually reports new statistics on the COVID-19 coronavirus each day based on the previous day’s testing and death reports.

MSDH has estimated the number of people who can be presumed recovered from COVID-19 in Mississippi. That number is 19,388 through Sunday, June 28. This figure is updated weekly. It represents about 63.2% of the cumulative 30,674 cases reported as of Saturday, July 4.

Based on the number of cases reported Saturday, June 13, in Warren County (248), the estimated number of people presumed recovered in the county is 230, or about 45% of the 511 cumulative cases reported Saturday, July 4. The county has an estimated 263 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 primary metric concerning state health officials are the numbers of people hospitalized. The number of hospitalizations has been steadily rising with new cases.

Mississippians hospitalized for the virus as of 6 p.m. Thursday, July 2, is 862, including 647 with confirmed cases of COVID-19 (another record high) and 215 people with suspected but unconfirmed cases. Of those with confirmed infections, 175 were critically ill and in intensive care units, and 88 were on ventilators.

Source: MSDH

For additional information, visit the MSDH website.