Mississippi’s COVID-19 coronavirus cases and deaths continue to climb, the Mississippi State Health Department reported Thursday, citing that 35 percent of deaths connected to the virus were residents of long-term care facilities.

The number of patients hospitalized with the virus also inched up to another new all-time high, for the third-consecutive day.

State health officials reported 246 new cases. It was the 22nd day in a row the number of new cases rose by more than 100 cases.

The state reported 11 more people died in the state over the last 24 hours due to the virus, bringing the state’s total number of deaths to 261. The state reported that 93 deaths were of residents of long-term care facilities.

Mississippi State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs said the number of deaths of residents of long-term care facilities was “probably an increasing concern.”

“That’s where the virus can spread easily if the conditions are right for that to happen and we also know that’s a vulnerable population,” Dobbs said Thursday afternoon. “I know people are really anxious to go see their relatives in long-term care and congregant settings but please be patient and know that we’re working diligently to try and protect them as much as possible.”

Thursday’s update showed 436 people were hospitalized with coronavirus. Another 203 patients suspected of having coronavirus, but not yet confirmed by testing, were also hospitalized, the state reported.

The state said 166 patients were in ICU beds and 72 required mechanical ventilation.

The state also tracks the number cases found in long-term care facilities such as nursing homes that are considered high risk due to their residents being in close confines, often being older and often having underlying health issues.

For the sake of reporting, the state considers even a single case of coronavirus among staff or residents of these facilities as an “outbreak” and are tracked by county below.

Here are the county by county numbers:

County	Total Cases	Total Deaths	Total Cases in LTC Facilities
Adams	133	8	*
Alcorn	10	1	*
Amite	29	0	*
Attala	99	0	*
Benton	11	0	*
Bolivar	102	7	*
Calhoun	50	3	*
Carroll	38	1	*
Chickasaw	68	7	*
Choctaw	13	1	*
Claiborne	22	0	*
Clarke	54	3	*
Clay	40	2	*
Coahoma	61	3	*
Copiah	96	1	*
Covington	62	0	*
Desoto	282	4	*
Forrest	207	12	*
Franklin	16	1	*
George	13	1	*
Greene	5	1	*
Grenada	28	0	*
Hancock	62	5	*
Harrison	174	6	*
Hinds	470	8	*
Holmes	133	5	*
Humphreys	23	3	*
Itawamba	57	3	*
Jackson	259	6	*
Jasper	42	1	*
Jefferson	18	0	*
Jefferson Davis	32	1	*
Jones	143	1	*
Kemper	57	2	*
Lafayette	89	3	*
Lamar	103	2	*
Lauderdale	349	20	*
Lawrence	45	0	*
Leake	204	2	*
Lee	69	4	*
Leflore	148	17	*
Lincoln	141	10	*
Lowndes	54	2	*
Madison	229	8	*
Marion	72	6	*
Marshall	43	2	*
Monroe	157	14	*
Montgomery	28	1	*
Neshoba	187	3	*
Newton	81	0	*
Noxubee	66	0	*
Oktibbeha	51	3	*
Panola	39	2	*
Pearl River	163	19	*
Perry	27	1	*
Pike	148	7	*
Pontotoc	18	2	*
Prentiss	32	1	*
Quitman	14	0	*
Rankin	186	5	*
Scott	316	0	*
Sharkey	5	0	*
Simpson	46	0	*
Smith	74	4	*
Stone	22	0	*
Sunflower	53	2	*
Tallahatchie	11	1	*
Tate	41	0	*
Tippah	54	7	*
Tishomingo	7	0	*
Tunica	35	1	*
Union	17	1	*
Walthall	31	0	*
Warren	68	2	*
Washington	77	3	*
Wayne	23	0	*
Webster	18	1	*
Wilkinson	69	7	*
Winston	42	0	*
Yalobusha	19	0	*
Yazoo	135	1	*
Total	6,815	261	*

* Updated cases for long-term care facilities are not available today. Please look for revised totals on Friday.

For more detailed graphics on Mississippi’s coronavirus statistics, please visit:

https://www.magnoliastatelive.com/video-mississippis-coronavirus-case-by-the-numbers/