New cases of the COVID-19 coronavirus continued to plummet across Mississippi on Wednesday as deaths from cases continued to rise sharply.

Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) officials reported Wednesday that 1,098 new coronavirus cases were found in the last 24 hours.

The additional cases reported Wednesday brings the total number of cases found in the state since the pandemic began to 487,293, meaning that more than 16 percent of all Mississippians have tested positive for the virus since the pandemic began.

Statistics indicate that approximately 1 in every 310 Mississippians has died from the virus.

MSDH reported 50 new deaths on Wednesday, bringing the total death toll to 9,588.

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, 44 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 56 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 1,138 on Wednesday. It was the lowest number since July 26.

The 14-day, daily average of new cases dropped to 1,334 with Wednesday’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	4443	117	88	18
Alcorn	5469	91	130	20
Amite	1996	52	57	9
Attala	3269	88	187	36
Benton	1442	37	47	10
Bolivar	6150	145	239	33
Calhoun	2700	41	43	7
Carroll	1628	37	52	11
Chickasaw	2888	66	61	15
Choctaw	1294	26	12	0
Claiborne	1273	35	46	9
Clarke	2847	91	133	31
Clay	2991	74	41	5
Coahoma	4007	101	138	13
Copiah	4354	89	103	14
Covington	4195	93	142	39
De Soto	30954	369	123	26
Forrest	13235	241	283	60
Franklin	1169	28	41	5
George	4772	76	67	9
Greene	2105	46	57	6
Grenada	3585	106	156	32
Hancock	7569	121	72	15
Harrison	33418	504	531	76
Hinds	31347	593	849	139
Holmes	2631	87	109	20
Humphreys	1274	38	35	9
Issaquena	193	7	0	0
Itawamba	4480	100	135	24
Jackson	23877	357	283	40
Jasper	3187	62	46	2
Jefferson	926	33	41	7
Jefferson Davis	1685	42	9	1
Jones	13499	230	235	43
Kemper	1391	40	50	10
Lafayette	8302	137	199	56
Lamar	10293	132	56	12
Lauderdale	11680	308	481	105
Lawrence	2076	36	27	2
Leake	4006	86	96	16
Lee	15069	223	225	43
Leflore	4525	140	240	55
Lincoln	5324	133	204	40
Lowndes	10557	179	278	64
Madison	14314	274	416	72
Marion	4124	104	162	24
Marshall	6200	127	69	17
Monroe	6564	169	191	55
Montgomery	1734	54	64	10
Neshoba	6502	201	225	59
Newton	3736	77	87	15
Noxubee	1805	40	38	6
Oktibbeha	7005	124	270	37
Panola	6338	127	103	15
Pearl River	9188	229	210	42
Perry	2021	54	24	9
Pike	5651	141	173	40
Pontotoc	6356	94	86	13
Prentiss	4518	80	101	15
Quitman	1047	27	0	0
Rankin	21520	379	485	68
Scott	4630	96	116	19
Sharkey	632	20	45	8
Simpson	4357	114	160	20
Smith	2554	49	72	8
Stone	3540	60	87	14
Sunflower	4165	104	124	20
Tallahatchie	2218	50	50	7
Tate	4441	103	80	19
Tippah	4523	81	120	14
Tishomingo	3432	89	103	28
Tunica	1547	35	19	3
Union	5806	92	132	23
Walthall	2125	60	69	14
Warren	6508	169	173	38
Washington	7183	155	198	41
Wayne	4359	70	80	13
Webster	1979	43	67	14
Wilkinson	1021	36	25	6
Winston	3063	91	130	39
Yalobusha	2258	47	82	22
Yazoo	4254	86	150	20
Total	487,293	9,588	11,233	2,074