New cases of the COVID-19 coronavirus in Mississippi continue to decline, the state reported Thursday, but remain at high levels, but far less than the massive spike seen last month.

Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) officials reported Thursday that 2,071 new coronavirus cases were found in the last 24 hours.

The additional cases reported Thursday brings the total number of cases found in the state since the pandemic began to 481,397, meaning that more than 16 percent of all Mississippians have tested positive for the virus since the pandemic began.

Statistics indicate that 1 in every 317 Mississippians has died from the virus.

MSDH reported 42 new deaths on Thursday, bringing the total death toll to 9,395.

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 Wednesday, 43 percent of the total Mississippi population has been fully vaccinated. The number of fully vaccinated Mississippians has grown rapidly over the last several weeks but remains below the U.S. average of 55 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 1,472 on Thursday. It was the lowest number since July 29.

The 14-day, daily average of new cases dropped to 1,641 with Thursday’s update.

Cumulative Cases and Deaths by County

County	Total Cases	Total Deaths	Total LTC Facility Cases	Total LTC Facility Deaths
Adams	4403	116	88	18
Alcorn	5360	90	130	20
Amite	1981	52	57	9
Attala	3248	86	187	36
Benton	1420	35	47	10
Bolivar	6105	144	239	33
Calhoun	2651	40	43	7
Carroll	1619	37	52	11
Chickasaw	2866	65	61	15
Choctaw	1263	26	12	0
Claiborne	1266	34	46	9
Clarke	2802	90	133	31
Clay	2952	73	41	5
Coahoma	3942	98	134	12
Copiah	4310	87	102	14
Covington	4147	92	142	39
De Soto	30491	353	122	26
Forrest	13125	238	283	60
Franklin	1166	28	41	5
George	4700	72	67	9
Greene	2078	45	57	6
Grenada	3553	104	156	32
Hancock	7501	112	72	15
Harrison	32996	486	532	75
Hinds	30973	586	847	139
Holmes	2618	87	109	20
Humphreys	1263	37	35	9
Issaquena	192	6	0	0
Itawamba	4430	100	135	24
Jackson	23650	348	283	39
Jasper	3137	62	46	2
Jefferson	888	33	41	7
Jefferson Davis	1676	42	9	1
Jones	13365	226	234	43
Kemper	1384	40	50	10
Lafayette	8218	137	199	56
Lamar	10184	130	55	12
Lauderdale	11538	305	481	105
Lawrence	2060	33	27	2
Leake	3971	86	94	16
Lee	14867	220	225	43
Leflore	4468	140	240	55
Lincoln	5297	131	204	40
Lowndes	10418	176	277	64
Madison	14145	271	415	72
Marion	4087	104	162	24
Marshall	6102	121	67	16
Monroe	6491	161	191	55
Montgomery	1720	54	64	10
Neshoba	6463	201	224	59
Newton	3687	75	87	15
Noxubee	1782	39	38	6
Oktibbeha	6937	124	262	37
Panola	6219	126	103	15
Pearl River	9055	219	210	42
Perry	1993	53	24	9
Pike	5590	136	167	39
Pontotoc	6265	93	86	13
Prentiss	4452	77	101	15
Quitman	1036	26	0	0
Rankin	21267	368	485	68
Scott	4560	96	116	19
Sharkey	628	20	45	8
Simpson	4324	112	160	20
Smith	2495	49	72	8
Stone	3506	59	87	14
Sunflower	4137	104	124	20
Tallahatchie	2188	50	50	7
Tate	4351	101	80	19
Tippah	4436	80	120	14
Tishomingo	3346	89	103	28
Tunica	1527	34	19	2
Union	5730	86	132	23
Walthall	2105	58	69	14
Warren	6439	163	173	38
Washington	7033	150	198	41
Wayne	4315	66	80	13
Webster	1959	42	67	14
Wilkinson	1015	36	25	6
Winston	3035	91	130	39
Yalobusha	2205	47	82	22
Yazoo	4230	86	149	20
Total	481,397	9,395	11,202	2,068