Mississippi ended its deadliest month of the COVID-19 coronavirus Sunday with more than two-dozen deaths added to the  January death toll. New cases are at a nearly two-month low, however, indicating the virus’ spread may be slowing.

The Mississippi State Health Department reported 27 new deaths on Saturday, bringing the total death toll to 6,045.

January was Mississippi’s deadliest month since the pandemic began with 1,263 deaths reported in the month.

Because some deaths reported on a given day or in a given month may have occurred earlier, not all of the deaths reported Saturday occurred in the last 24 hours.

The state reported Saturday 811 new cases were found in the last 24 hours. That brings the total number of cases found in the state since the pandemic began to 275,001.

The 7-day, daily average of new cases dropped to 1,595 on Saturday. It was the lowest average number of new cases in a 7-day period since December 1.

The 14-day, daily average of new cases dropped to 1,665 with Saturday’s update. It was the lowest 14-day average since the first week in December.

Of the total cases, the state believes approximately 222,812 cases 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.