No new COVID-19 cases reported in Warren County Sunday; statewide cases number 11,296 and 521 deaths

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The Mississippi State Department of Health reports no new COVID-19 cases or deaths in Warren County Sunday. The total number of cases in the county is 133. The county’s death toll from the virus stands at four. Two residents of long-term care facilities are among the dead. The county has 33 cases in one long-term care facility under investigation.

Statewide, MSDH reports 173 new COVID-19 cases Sunday, bringing the total cumulative confirmed cases in Mississippi to 11,296.

MSDH also reports 11 additional Mississippians died of COVID-19. bringing the number of deaths in the state to 521.

Deaths were reported in the following counties Sunday:

Deaths and new cases were reported as of 6 p.m. Saturday, May 16. MSDH reports new statistics on the COVID-19 coronavirus each morning based on the previous day’s testing and death reports.

MSDH is also reporting the number of estimated COVID-19 cases presumed recovered in Mississippi. That number is 6,268 through May 3, the agency first reported Monday, May 11. This figure will be updated weekly.

Long-term care facilities

Many of the new cases and deaths in Mississippi are reflected in cases and deaths in the state’s long-term care facilities. The number of individual COVID-19 cases in long-term care facilities total 1,479 Sunday, an increase of 63 cases since Friday. Deaths among residents total 251, an increase of 20. About 13.1% of the state’s cases and 48.2% of the state’s deaths from the virus are people from long-term care facilities. The number of active outbreaks under investigation is 101, a decrease of 10.

Lauderdale County in East Central Mississippi has the highest number of cases and deaths in long-term care facilities in the state, with 156 cases and 28 deaths. It also has among the highest total COVID-19 cases and deaths reported in the state with 585 cases and the 46 deaths as of Friday.

Mississippi is paying special attention to any outbreaks in these facilities. 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.

COVID-19 in Mississippi counties

Neighboring Hinds County, still the state’s virus epicenter, is reporting 773 cases Sunday, an increase of 28 since Friday, and 22 deaths, an increase of two. Thirteen of the deaths in Hinds were residents in long-term care facilities, and 73 cases in long-term care facilities are under investigation in Hinds County.

In other neighboring counties, Yazoo County reports 188 cases Sunday, an increase of eight since Friday, and two deaths, unchanged. Yazoo is reporting seven cases under investigation in long-term care facilities. Claiborne County reports 49 cases, an increase of one, and now has one case in a long-term care facility under investigation. Sharkey County reports six cases, an increase of one and no outbreaks in long-term care facilities. Neither Claiborne nor Sharkey has any reported any deaths from the virus. Issaquena County remains the only county in the state without any reported cases.

In all, 38 Mississippi counties are now reporting more than 100 cases each, and 18 counties report 200 or more. Hinds, Lauderdale, Madison, Scott, Forrest and Neshoba counties report more than 400 cases. Only Greene and Sharkey counties report 10 or fewer cases.

Deaths reported in most Mississippi counties are in the single digits, and 16 counties report no deaths from the virus. The following 18 counties report 10 or more deaths: Adams (15, unchanged since Friday), Bolivar (10, unchanged), Chickasaw (12, up two), Clarke (12, up one), Forrest (27, up three), Hancock (10, unchanged), Hinds (22, up four), Holmes (20, up one), Jackson (13, unchanged), Lauderdale (46, up one), Leflore (22, unchanged), Lincoln (18, unchanged), Madison (17, unchanged), Monroe (23, unchanged), Neshoba (23, up seven), Pearl River (26, unchanged), Pike (11, up one) and Tippah (11, unchanged). No counties were added to that list Saturday or Sunday.

COVID-19 Demographics: race, gender and age

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 Sunday, 58.5. of cases (5,588) and 52.1% of COVID-19 deaths (268) in Mississippi were among African Americans.

COVID-19 cases are also skewed toward women, with 58.7% of cases among women.

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.

All age groups have been affected by the disease, including children under 18, with 554 cumulative cases as of Sunday, including 41 cases in infants less than 1 year old. Eighteen young people were hospitalized with the virus, but no death among juveniles have been reported in Mississippi.

Deaths and hospitalizations from the virus occur most frequently among those 60 and older. As of Sunday, 1,103 of Mississippi’s cumulative 1,773 hospitalizations, or 62.2%, were among people over 60, and 87.1% of the state’s deaths (454) have been people over 60.

Hospitalizations

Hospitalizations among people with confirmed COVID-19 infections total 413 patients Sunday. Another 195 hospitalized people are suspected of being infected but have not been confirmed for the virus.

The overall trend for patients in intensive care have been rising slightly and are now at 158 patients from a low of 123 May 7. Numbers of patients on ventilators seems to be holding steady at around 80.

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 16.8% as of Sunday. The national average for hospitalizations has seen a steady rise and stands at 60.5 per 100,000 for the week ending May 9, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; however, the rate skyrockets to 192.4 per 100,000 for those 65 and older.

Testing

The number of tests performed in Mississippi as of May 16 is 113,126. About 10.1% 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. As of May 11, Mississippi has tested about 3.6% of the state’s 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: