Warren County COVID-19 cases increase to 81; five long-term-care facility cases under investigation

The Mississippi State Department of Health is reporting 109 new COVID-19 cases Sunday, a sharp decrease from two days ago when a record 397 cases were reported. New cases were reported as of 6 p.m. Saturday, May 2, bringing the total cases to 7,550.

MSDH is reporting 12 additional deaths. The number of deaths in the state now number 303.

MSDH is reporting an additional three confirmed COVID-19 cases in Warren County bringing the cumulative number of cases to 81 on Saturday. 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 3,413 as of Wednesday, April 29. 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 889, an increase of 23 since yesterday, and deaths among residents total 123, an increase of seven. The number of facilities under active investigation is 100. 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 507 cases as of Saturday, an increase of two since yesterday, and eight deaths, four of which were residents in long-term care facilities. Fifteen cases in long-term care facilities are under investigation in Hinds County as of Friday.

In other neighboring counties, Claiborne reports 28 cases, up one 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 147 cases, up three since yesterday, and two deaths, an increase of one. Issaquena County remains the only county in the state without any reported cases.

In all, 20 Mississippi counties are reporting more than 125 cases each, and nine counties report more than 200 cases. Deaths reported in the counties are in the single digits except for Forrest (14, up one), Lauderdale (26, up one), Leflore (17, unchanged), Lincoln (11, unchanged), Monroe (16, unchanged), Pearl River (20, unchanged), and Tippah (10, unchanged) counties. No 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, 52.3% of cases (3,951) and 56.8% of COVID-19 deaths (171) 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 59.2% of cases among women.

All age groups have been affected by the disease, including children under 18, with 262 cases, up five since yesterday. As of today, MSDH reports 19 cases in infants less than one year old, unchanged 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 Saturday evening, 822 of Mississippi’s cumulative 1,301 hospitalizations, or 63.2%, were among people over 60, and 88.8% of the state’s deaths (269) have been people over 60.

Current hospitalizations increased by 34 Saturday after dropping on Friday by 28. Total hospitalized with confirmed COVID-19 infections is 458 patients. Another 209 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 19.3% 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 2 is 77,593, with 64,312 tests, or about 83%, performed by private labs. About 9.7% 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 2.5% of the total population. The number of tests completed by the MSDH Public Health Laboratory through May 2 is 13,281, with 1,608 positive results, a rate of 12.1%.

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 and long-term care facility cases and deaths to date:

 *An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that five long-term care facilities were under investigation in Warren County. It has been corrected to five cases in two long-term care facilities.