After several days of slight decline, the page of new COVID-19 coronavirus cases inched higher again Monday, but still slightly lower than recent record highs.

Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) officials reported Monday that 7.971 new coronavirus cases were found over the weekend.

The additional cases reported Monday brings the total number of cases found in the state since the pandemic began to 435,611, meaning more than 14.5 percent of all Mississippians have tested positive for the virus since the pandemic began.

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)	92,106

The high number of cases so far in August means, statistically,  that more than 3 out of every 100 Mississippi residents has contracted the virus this month.

More Mississippians have contracted the virus so far in August than in the six months prior combined.

MSDH reported 82 new deaths on Monday, bringing the total death toll to 8,361. August is already the month with the third-highest number of COVID-19 deaths reported with 818 through Monday.

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.

Through Friday, only 38 percent of the total population has been fully vaccinated, nearly the worst in the nation and well below the U.S. average of 52 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 3,159 on Monday.

The 14-day, daily average of new cases rose to 3,330 with Monday’s update.

Cumulative Cases and Deaths by County