As Mississippi reported another near-record high number of COVID-19 coronavirus cases and inches closer to a new monthly death toll record, state health officials are warning that Christmas dinner could be deadly.

Mississippi State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs urged Mississippians to limit Christmas and New Year’s gatherings to minimize virus spread.

“Please beware of the SILENT-SUPERSPREADER at your holiday table,” Dobbs wrote on social media Wednesday morning. “We catch COVID from people we love, people we know. It could be your cousin, your best friend, your nephew. It could even be you!

“MOST PEOPLE WHO SPREAD COVID DON’T KNOW THEY HAVE IT. Keep it small this holiday.”

The state reported on Wednesday 43 new deaths attributed to the virus. A total of 4,533 Mississippians have died from the virus, the state reported.

The average number of deaths reported per day during December is currently averaging 31.6, for a total of 726 deaths reported so far during the month, making December second only to August when the state reported 813 deaths. Note: Some deaths reported on a given day or in a given month may have occurred earlier, but were delayed in reporting.

The Mississippi State Department of Health reported 2,634 new cases on Wednesday. It was the third-highest number of cases in a single day.

The latest numbers bring the total cases since the pandemic began in March to 200,325.

Approximately 47,055 new cases have been confirmed in December, which is now the month with the highest number of new cases since the pandemic began in March. The high case load is an ominous sign for health care workers and hospital administrators already struggling with capacity problems.

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)	47,055

Of the total cases, the state believes approximately 154,669 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 Monday’s statistics, the state reported 1,267 confirmed COVID-19 patients were hospitalized with another 73 suspected, but not confirmed by test yet COVID patients also hospitalized. The state reported that across the state only 85 ICU beds were available, meaning that 90 percent of all ICU beds were filled. Of the ICU beds in use, approximately 41 percent were filled with confirmed COVID-19 patients.

“And this is before holiday celebrations,” Dobbs wrote on social media Tuesday morning.

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 or more, nearly double any prior month, and as many as 900 deaths.

The 7-day, daily average of new cases rose to 2,097 with Wednesday’s update.

The 14-day, daily average of new cases dropped slightly to 2,118 on Wednesday.