Mississippi State Health Department staff reported Thursday the number of COVID-19 coronavirus patients requiring mechanical ventilation hit a new record Thursday.

The state reported Thursday that 92 patients were hospitalized and required ventilator support.

Mississippi State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs said that’s the highest number of ventilator patients in the state since the virus first appeared in Mississippi in March.

“If we look at hospital utilization, we do have relative stability, but we still have a lot of people being hospitalized,” Dobbs said. “It’s a reminder that coronavirus is out there, people are getting sick, we gotta stay diligent,” Dobbs said.

The total number of patients hospitalized with confirmed cases of coronavirus has also climbed in recent days reading a high of 462 Thursday. Another 176 patients hospitalized are suspected of having coronavirus but have not been confirmed to have the virus yet.

Earlier Thursday the state reported 255 new cases of the virus in the last 24 hours and 10 additional deaths during that time period, bringing the state’s totals to 12,222 cases and 580 deaths related to the virus.

For more detailed numbers from Thursday’s updated statistics visit: https://www.magnoliastatelive.com/2020/05/21/the-latest-mississippi-coronavirus-cases-deaths-continue-to-rise/