Mississippi’s weekly average of new COVID-19 coronavirus cases dropped below 1,000 daily cases Friday for the first time in more than two months.

Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) officials reported Friday that 822 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 489,216, 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 46 new deaths on Friday, bringing the total death toll to 9,646.

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, 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 902 on Friday. It was the lowest number since July 22.

The 14-day, daily average of new cases dropped to 1,129 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	4462	118	88	18
Alcorn	5503	91	130	20
Amite	2006	52	57	9
Attala	3270	88	187	36
Benton	1445	37	47	10
Bolivar	6168	145	239	33
Calhoun	2711	44	44	7
Carroll	1633	37	52	11
Chickasaw	2901	67	61	15
Choctaw	1295	26	12	0
Claiborne	1279	35	46	9
Clarke	2856	91	133	31
Clay	2996	74	41	5
Coahoma	4028	101	138	13
Copiah	4362	89	103	14
Covington	4212	93	142	39
De Soto	31105	373	123	26
Forrest	13271	243	283	60
Franklin	1170	28	41	5
George	4807	76	67	9
Greene	2117	47	57	6
Grenada	3590	107	156	32
Hancock	7587	121	72	15
Harrison	33547	507	531	76
Hinds	31457	599	848	139
Holmes	2638	87	109	20
Humphreys	1275	38	35	9
Issaquena	193	7	0	0
Itawamba	4502	102	135	24
Jackson	23943	361	283	40
Jasper	3201	62	46	2
Jefferson	931	33	41	7
Jefferson Davis	1693	42	9	1
Jones	13560	232	235	43
Kemper	1398	40	50	10
Lafayette	8318	137	199	56
Lamar	10335	134	56	12
Lauderdale	11736	308	481	105
Lawrence	2080	36	27	2
Leake	4021	87	99	17
Lee	15142	224	225	43
Leflore	4548	141	240	55
Lincoln	5341	133	204	40
Lowndes	10633	180	278	64
Madison	14356	275	416	72
Marion	4138	104	162	24
Marshall	6229	128	69	17
Monroe	6601	172	191	55
Montgomery	1739	54	64	10
Neshoba	6524	202	226	59
Newton	3751	77	87	15
Noxubee	1809	40	38	6
Oktibbeha	7034	124	270	37
Panola	6383	127	103	15
Pearl River	9225	230	210	42
Perry	2026	54	24	9
Pike	5664	142	173	40
Pontotoc	6394	94	86	13
Prentiss	4550	81	101	15
Quitman	1047	27	0	0
Rankin	21629	381	486	68
Scott	4652	96	116	19
Sharkey	633	20	45	8
Simpson	4366	115	160	20
Smith	2575	49	72	8
Stone	3545	60	87	14
Sunflower	4181	104	124	20
Tallahatchie	2226	50	50	7
Tate	4451	106	80	19
Tippah	4539	81	120	14
Tishomingo	3454	89	103	28
Tunica	1556	36	19	3
Union	5821	93	132	23
Walthall	2130	61	69	14
Warren	6531	172	173	38
Washington	7208	155	200	41
Wayne	4362	71	80	13
Webster	1987	43	67	14
Wilkinson	1023	36	25	6
Winston	3075	91	130	39
Yalobusha	2271	47	82	22
Yazoo	4265	86	150	20
Total	489,216	9,646	11,240	2,075