New cases of COVID-19 coronavirus are falling quickly in Mississippi, but the death toll from the August spike in cases continues to build rapidly, the state reported Friday.

September is now the month with the second-highest number of reported deaths since the pandemic began. Through Friday, 1,017 deaths had been reported in September, second only to the more than 1,200 deaths reported in January. Reported deaths in a specific month often include some deaths from prior months as reporting from death certificates can be delayed.

Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) officials reported Friday that 1,505 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 482,902, 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 316 Mississippians has died from the virus.

MSDH reported 30 new deaths on Friday, bringing the total death toll to 9,425.

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, 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 1,356 on Friday. It was the lowest number since July 28.

The 14-day, daily average of new cases dropped to 1,614 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	4416	116	88	18
Alcorn	5372	90	130	20
Amite	1984	52	57	9
Attala	3253	87	187	36
Benton	1425	35	47	10
Bolivar	6115	144	239	33
Calhoun	2661	41	43	7
Carroll	1621	37	52	11
Chickasaw	2870	65	61	15
Choctaw	1270	26	12	0
Claiborne	1268	34	46	9
Clarke	2821	90	133	31
Clay	2964	73	41	5
Coahoma	3957	100	134	12
Copiah	4317	87	103	14
Covington	4157	92	142	39
De Soto	30610	358	123	26
Forrest	13160	240	283	60
Franklin	1167	28	41	5
George	4714	72	67	9
Greene	2090	45	57	6
Grenada	3556	104	156	32
Hancock	7514	112	72	15
Harrison	33063	488	532	75
Hinds	31021	589	848	139
Holmes	2621	87	109	20
Humphreys	1266	37	35	9
Issaquena	192	6	0	0
Itawamba	4444	100	135	24
Jackson	23687	348	283	39
Jasper	3141	62	46	2
Jefferson	913	33	41	7
Jefferson Davis	1683	42	9	1
Jones	13404	227	235	43
Kemper	1386	40	50	10
Lafayette	8241	137	199	56
Lamar	10214	130	55	12
Lauderdale	11601	305	481	105
Lawrence	2068	33	27	2
Leake	3975	86	96	16
Lee	14909	220	225	43
Leflore	4476	140	240	55
Lincoln	5303	131	204	40
Lowndes	10443	176	277	64
Madison	14166	271	415	72
Marion	4099	104	162	24
Marshall	6126	123	68	17
Monroe	6514	164	191	55
Montgomery	1724	54	64	10
Neshoba	6475	201	224	59
Newton	3708	75	87	15
Noxubee	1789	39	38	6
Oktibbeha	6964	124	262	37
Panola	6250	126	103	15
Pearl River	9098	221	210	42
Perry	1999	53	24	9
Pike	5613	136	167	39
Pontotoc	6303	93	86	13
Prentiss	4467	79	101	15
Quitman	1039	26	0	0
Rankin	21340	370	485	68
Scott	4591	96	116	19
Sharkey	630	20	45	8
Simpson	4335	112	160	20
Smith	2506	49	72	8
Stone	3508	60	87	14
Sunflower	4148	104	124	20
Tallahatchie	2204	50	50	7
Tate	4394	101	80	19
Tippah	4464	80	120	14
Tishomingo	3362	89	103	28
Tunica	1533	34	19	2
Union	5741	86	132	23
Walthall	2110	58	69	14
Warren	6464	164	173	38
Washington	7102	150	198	41
Wayne	4330	66	80	13
Webster	1965	42	67	14
Wilkinson	1019	36	25	6
Winston	3046	91	130	39
Yalobusha	2210	47	82	22
Yazoo	4233	86	149	20
Total	482,902	9,425	11,209	2,069