Not yet halfway through December, the month is on pace to see more than double any other month’s new COVID-19 coronavirus cases and deaths since the pandemic started in March.

Mississippi State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs wrote Sunday on social media that COVID-19 was “raging” in Mississippi and the statistics of new cases and deaths illustrate his point.

The Mississippi State Department of Health reported 1,500 new cases on Sunday. It was the first day in last five days that the state reported less than 2,000 cases.

The latest numbers bring the total cases since the pandemic began in March to 179,447.

More than 27,600 new cases have been confirmed in the last 14 days. New cases confirmed in Mississippi during the last 14 days already eclipse every month of the pandemic except July and November.

If December’s pace of new cases and deaths continues evenly through the remainder of the month, the state may see as many as 60,000 cases, nearly double any prior month, and more than 900 deaths.

Here’s a monthly new case breakdown:

Month	New cases
June	11,746
July	31,496
August	24,203
September	15,240
October	21,970
November	33,111
December (month to date)	26,177

Of the total cases, the state believes approximately 136,627 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 can die as a result.

Through Friday’s statistics, the state reported 1,164 confirmed COVID-19 patients hospitalized with another 100 suspected, but not confirmed by test yet COVID patients also hospitalized.

The state reported 19 new deaths Sunday. A total of 4,199 Mississippians have died from the virus, the state reported.

The 7-day, daily average of new cases was 2,074 with Sunday’s update.

The 14-day, daily average of new cases was 1,976 on Sunday.