Warren County adds five new COVID-19 cases Tuesday

In Warren County, the Mississippi State Department of Health reports five new COVID-19 cases Tuesday. The total number of cases in the county is now 122. The county’s death toll stands at two, and 12 cases in one long-term care facility are under investigation.

Statewide, MSDH reports another big jump in new COVID-19 cases Tuesday with 234 cases, bringing the total of confirmed cases in Mississippi to 9,908.

MSDH also reports 22 additional Mississippians died of COVID-19, bringing the number of deaths in the state to 457. Seven of these deaths were identified from death certificates between April 25 and May 3.

Deaths and new cases were reported as of 6 p.m. Monday, May 11. 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 as of May 3, the agency 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 1,239 Tuesday, an increase of 37 since yesterday, and deaths among residents total 208, an increase of 17. About 12.5% of the state’s cases and 45.5% of the state’s deaths are people from long-term care facilities. The number of active outbreaks under investigation is 115, an increase of five since yesterday.

Lauderdale County in East Central Mississippi has the highest number of cases and deaths in long-term care facilities in the state, with 121 cases and 26 deaths. It also has among the highest total COVID-19 cases and deaths reported in the state with 501 cases and the 45 deaths as of Tuesday.

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.

Source: MSDH

COVID-19 in Mississippi counties

Neighboring Hinds County, still the state’s virus epicenter, is reporting 681 cases Tuesday, an increase of 11 since Monday, and 17 deaths, an increase of two. Ten of the deaths in Hinds were residents in long-term care facilities, and 62 cases in long-term care facilities are under investigation in Hinds County, an increase of nine cases.

In other neighboring counties, Yazoo County reports 169 cases, an increase of five, and two deaths, unchanged. Yazoo is reporting three cases under investigation in long-term care facilities. Claiborne County reports 41 cases, and Sharkey County reports five cases, both unchanged since yesterday. Neither Claiborne or Sharkey counties have reported outbreaks in long-term care facilities, and neither has any reported deaths from the virus. Issaquena County remains the only county in the state without any reported cases.

In all, 31 Mississippi counties are now reporting more than 100 cases each, and 15 counties report 200 or more. Hinds, Lauderdale, Madison, and Scott counties report more than 400 cases. Tishomingo, Greene and Sharkey counties report 10 or fewer cases.

Deaths reported in most Mississippi counties are in the single digits, and 15 counties report no deaths from the virus. The following 16 counties report 10 or more deaths: Adams (15, up three since yesterday), Chickasaw (10, unchanged), Forrest (23, up two), Hancock (10, unchanged), Hinds (17, up two), Holmes (19, unchanged), Jackson (13, up two), Lauderdale (45, up two), Leflore (29, up two), Lincoln (14, unchanged), Madison (13, up two), Monroe (21, unchanged), Neshoba (16, up two), Pearl River (25, up one), Pike (10, unchanged) and Tippah (11, unchanged) counties. No counties were added to that list Tuesday.

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, 57.5% of cases (4,744) and 54.1% of COVID-19 deaths (242) in Mississippi were among African Americans.

COVID-19 cases are also skewed toward women, with 58.6% 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 436 cases, up 34 since Monday. As of Tuesday, MSDH reports 33 cases in infants less than 1 year old, an increase of four since Monday. 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 Saturday evening, 994 of Mississippi’s cumulative 1,582 hospitalizations, or 62.8%, were among people over 60, and 87.8% of the state’s deaths (402) have been people over 60.

Hospitalizations

Current hospitalizations among people with confirmed COVID-19 infections increased by 25 people Monday to 450 patients. Another 154 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 every day since May 7 and are now at 146 patients from a low of 123. Numbers of patients on ventilators seems to be holding fairly steady in the mid to upper 70s.

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 18% as of Monday. The national average for hospitalizations has seen a steady rise and stands at 50.3 per 100,000 for the week ending May 2, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; however, the rate skyrockets to 162.2 per 100,000 for those 65 and older.

Testing

The number of tests performed in Mississippi as of May 11 is 96,426, with 80,689 tests, or about 83.7%, performed by private labs. About 10.3% 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 3.2% 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: