Mississippi’s hospitals continued to be pressured Monday with more than 1,000 people hospitalized with the COVID-19 coronavirus, a new record high.

The state reported 758 people with confirmed COVID-19 were hospitalized yesterday with another 262 people with suspected COVID also hospitalized. Of those patients, 208 were in ICU rooms and 110 required a ventilator.

“This is the worst it has ever been for spread of cases in our state,” Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said. “It’s the most stressed our hospitals have been in our state.”

More than 10,000 new cases of the COVID-19 coronavirus were discovered in the last two weeks in Mississippi, a mark that took approximately two months to reach when the pandemic first began in March.

Mississippi reported 393 new cases Monday as the 7-day daily average of new cases hit a record high again.

Mississippi’s 7-day average of new cases jumped to 774, which was a new record high. The 14-day average of daily new cases dropped slightly to 722.

The numbers of new cases have been rapidly growing lately and Reeves seemed to suggest it’s because people are not following state guidelines aimed at avoiding the virus.

“Right now, it seems like there’s a good number of people who have resigned themselves to spreading the virus or they believe it’s not real. I’m telling you, it’s real, it is very real.

“We as a state are in the thick of things,” Reeves said Monday afternoon. “The virus is deadly. It is spreading. Our experts believe we are witnessing a more contagious strain tearing through our state.”

Reeves said that Mississippians need to help one another by wearing face masks and being smart.

“This is Mississippi’s moment. This is our time to fight. I believe it’s coming for every corner of this country, but it’s coming at different times. I urge you, stay calm, but stay in control.

“We can beat this thing working together and we can save lives. That is what you’re doing every time you wear a mask. Every little action you take, you are helping to save lives. I believe in my heart we can do this. I also believe in my heart that we have to do this.

“Mask wearing is the best tool we have. It’s not fun, but it’s a helluva lot better than widespread shutdowns,” Reeves said.

The Mississippi State Department of Health reported the total cases in the state were 36,680. The state believes nearly 26,000 of those cases have recovered.

The state also reported only 1 new death Monday attributed to the virus bringing the total death toll to 1,250. That was the lowest number of deaths on a single day since March.