A day after Mississippi moved into the top position for the state with the most COVID-19 coronavirus deaths per capita, the state reported thousands of more new cases and dozens of deaths on Friday.

Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) officials reported Friday that 2,321 new coronavirus cases were found in the last 24 hours.

The additional cases reported Friday brings the total number of cases found in the state since the pandemic began to 473,416, meaning that approximately 16 percent of all Mississippians have tested positive for the virus since the pandemic began.

Statistics indicate that 1 in every 323 Mississippians have died from the virus.

MSDH reported 49 new deaths on Friday, bringing the total death toll to 9,214. With approximately half of the month elapsed, September is already shaping up to be among the deadliest with more than 800 total deaths reported so far in the month.

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 Thursday, 42 percent of the total Mississippi population has been fully vaccinated, nearly the worst in the nation and well below the U.S. average of 54 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 1,872 on Friday.

The 14-day, daily average of new cases dropped to 1,896 with Friday’s update.

Cumulative Cases and Deaths by County