Coronavirus cases coming like fire hose in Mississippi as new records fall daily; August already worst month of pandemic

Published 9:06 am Friday, August 20, 2021

With 11 days left in the month, August just became the month with the highest number of new COVID-19 coronavirus cases since the pandemic began after the state reported more than 5,000 new cases in the last 24 hours.

Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) officials reported Friday that 5,048 new coronavirus cases were found in the last 24 hours, as the state reported new records in almost any category related to COVID-19

The additional cases reported Friday brings the total number of cases found in the state since the pandemic began to 406,249. The total number of cases indicates approximately 14 percent of all Mississippians have tested positive for the virus since the pandemic began.

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Through Wednesday, Mississippi hospitals were caring for a record 1,660 positive COVID cases with another 72 suspected cases in state hospital beds. A total of 457 people were in ICU beds with a record 324 on ventilators.

Mississippi has seen a steep rise in cases since early July.

Since the beginning of August, Mississippi has already reported more new cases than any month since the pandemic began in March 2020.

Here’s how the monthly numbers break down for each month of 2021:

January ’21         59,185
February ’21         19,794
March ’21         10,351
April ’21           6,754
May ’21           5,931
June ’21           4,051
July ’21         21,741
August ’21 (MTD)         62,744

The high number of cases so far in August means, statistically,  means more than 2 out of every 100 Mississippi residents has contracted the virus this month.

MSDH reported 54 new deaths on Friday, bringing the total death toll to 7,991.

Mississippi health leaders have said that a combination of a low overall vaccination rate among Mississippians along with a rapidly spreading Delta variant is causing the recent surge in cases.

The recent spikes in cases and deaths have prompted more people to get vaccinated. More than 71,000 were vaccinated last week, up significantly from the low week in early July when less than 20,000 were vaccinated.

“Most of these folks that we’re losing could have made it if they had been vaccinated beforehand,” Mississippi State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs said Wednesday.

Through Thursday, nly 37 percent of the total population has been fully vaccinated, nearly the worst in the nation and well below the U.S. average of 50 percent.

For more detailed county-by-county vaccination results visit: https://msdh.ms.gov/msdhsite/_static/resources/12130.pdf

The 7-day, daily average of new cases rose to 3,586 on Friday, another record high since the pandemic began.

The 14-day, daily average of new cases jumped to another new record to 3,486 with Friday’s update.

Cumulative Cases and Deaths by County

Totals of all reported COVID-19 cases, including those in long-term care (LTC) facilities.

The numbers in this table are provisional. County case and deaths totals may change as investigation finds new or additional information.

County Total Cases Total Deaths Total LTC Facility Cases Total LTC Facility Deaths
Adams 3853 98 83 17
Alcorn 4245 78 129 20
Amite 1619 46 57 9
Attala 2759 78 187 36
Benton 1208 25 47 10
Bolivar 5418 139 237 33
Calhoun 2153 35 36 6
Carroll 1419 33 51 10
Chickasaw 2461 60 61 15
Choctaw 1005 21 11 0
Claiborne 1165 32 46 9
Clarke 2318 81 124 31
Clay 2403 56 41 5
Coahoma 3385 88 132 12
Copiah 3673 71 101 12
Covington 3536 86 142 39
De Soto 25652 296 119 26
Forrest 11194 184 278 58
Franklin 980 26 41 5
George 3640 58 61 9
Greene 1737 39 57 6
Grenada 3037 91 154 32
Hancock 5782 92 71 15
Harrison 26670 357 509 72
Hinds 27441 500 830 137
Holmes 2260 77 106 20
Humphreys 1106 34 34 9
Issaquena 181 6 0 0
Itawamba 3609 83 135 24
Jackson 19371 275 265 37
Jasper 2747 49 44 2
Jefferson 800 30 41 7
Jefferson Davis 1425 35 9 1
Jones 11039 180 227 43
Kemper 1219 31 46 9
Lafayette 7191 128 190 55
Lamar 8896 95 54 12
Lauderdale 9904 254 458 102
Lawrence 1724 28 27 2
Leake 3409 77 92 16
Lee 12359 189 223 43
Leflore 4047 129 239 55
Lincoln 4571 121 198 40
Lowndes 8537 156 266 64
Madison 12520 241 405 70
Marion 3410 86 160 24
Marshall 5155 108 65 15
Monroe 5202 140 191 55
Montgomery 1472 47 54 9
Neshoba 5675 183 209 59
Newton 3192 66 87 15
Noxubee 1540 36 37 6
Oktibbeha 5884 102 227 36
Panola 5266 112 104 15
Pearl River 6750 169 204 40
Perry 1593 41 23 9
Pike 4439 118 136 37
Pontotoc 5039 80 86 13
Prentiss 3595 64 100 15
Quitman 927 20 0 0
Rankin 18502 312 472 65
Scott 3914 82 116 19
Sharkey 567 20 45 8
Simpson 3705 97 160 20
Smith 2125 40 68 8
Stone 2935 40 85 14
Sunflower 3806 97 124 20
Tallahatchie 1986 45 50 7
Tate 3731 89 80 19
Tippah 3713 74 120 14
Tishomingo 2653 71 102 27
Tunica 1280 29 18 2
Union 4936 80 132 23
Walthall 1735 52 69 13
Warren 5618 132 172 38
Washington 6067 142 193 41
Wayne 3457 53 79 12
Webster 1511 32 62 12
Wilkinson 892 33 25 5
Winston 2607 86 130 39
Yalobusha 1919 43 82 22
Yazoo 3783 82 149 20
Total 406,249 7,991 10,880 2,031