The number of new COVID-19 coronavirus cases in Mississippi appears to be dropping nearly as quickly as they shot up last month, the state’s latest data on the pandemic appear to show, but deaths from earlier infections continue to grow.

Just three weeks after hitting the record high of average nearly 3,600 cases per day on August 20, the 7-day average has plummeted to less than half of that, the state reported on Monday.

Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) officials reported Monday that 3,763 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 464,075, meaning that more than 15 percent of all Mississippians have tested positive for the virus since the pandemic began.

MSDH reported 71 new deaths on Monday, bringing the total death toll to 8,976.

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.

Through Friday, 41 percent of the total Mississippi population has been fully vaccinated, nearly the worst in the nation and well below the U.S. average of 53 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 dropped to 1,633 on Monday. It was the lowest level since August 1.

The 14-day, daily average of new cases dropped to 2,014 with Monday’s update.

Cumulative Cases and Deaths by County