With six days left to go in November, Mississippi’s COVID-19 coronavirus new case statistics have already eclipsed all recent months and may come close to topping July, the worst month for new cases.

July’s high case numbers, just under 31,500 cases, ultimately made August the state’s deadliest month, with 813 deaths reported. On an average basis, July’s daily average of new cases was 1,016 cases per day.

By comparison, November’s daily average Tuesday stood at the same 1,016 cases reported per day.

It’s difficult to know if cases in November will results in the same percentages of deaths that Mississippi saw earlier in the pandemic as physicians say they’ve learned much in the past months about how best to treat severely ill COVID-19 patients, but they predict statistically some of those people will almost certainly die.

Higher cases result in more deaths, Mississippi State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs has said previously.

Mississippi State Health Department statistics show that of COVID-19 patients age 70 or older, 14.5 percent ended with death.

On Tuesday, Mississippi reported a near-record high number of COVID-19 deaths Tuesday as hospitalization numbers also continue to climb to near-record highs as well.

The state reported 53 new deaths Tuesday. Some of the deaths reported Tuesday actually occurred in October, but were discovered through death certificate reviews. A total of 3,729 Mississippians have died from the virus, the state reported.

The Mississippi State Department of Health reported 665 new cases on Tuesday, bringing the total cases since the pandemic began in March to 144,544.

This comes days ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday causing state and national health officials to be fearful that the worst of the pandemic will come in the weeks after the holiday if people are not careful.

“As we prepare for Thanksgiving, we must remember how dangerous COVID can be for middle and older age groups.,” Mississippi State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs wrote on social media. “(Approximately) 12% of those diagnosed with COVID (over) 65 years of age have died from COVID. Plan carefully. Keep it small (and preferably outdoors).”

Of the total cases, the state believes approximately 121,637 have recovered and while many people who are infected with the virus may only have moderate or even no visible symptoms, others can get gravely ill and die as a result.