New cases of the COVID-19 coronavirus continued to drop, the state reported Tuesday, but the death toll from the most recent peak in cases continues to climb higher with dozens of more deaths reported.

Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) officials reported Tuesday that 947 new coronavirus cases were found in the last 24 hours.

The additional cases reported Tuesday brings the total number of cases found in the state since the pandemic began to 491,724, 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 305 Mississippians has died from the virus.

MSDH reported 61 new deaths on Tuesday, bringing the total death toll to 9,749.

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 Monday, 45 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 790 on Tuesday. It was the lowest number since July 21.

The 14-day, daily average of new cases dropped to 997 with Tuesday’s update. It was the first time the two-week average fell below 1,000 daily cases since July 27.

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	4498	119	88	18
Alcorn	5541	93	130	20
Amite	2015	52	57	9
Attala	3276	88	187	36
Benton	1457	38	47	10
Bolivar	6193	145	239	33
Calhoun	2729	45	44	7
Carroll	1643	37	52	11
Chickasaw	2918	67	61	15
Choctaw	1310	26	12	0
Claiborne	1284	35	46	9
Clarke	2869	92	133	32
Clay	3019	74	41	5
Coahoma	4058	103	138	13
Copiah	4378	89	103	14
Covington	4233	93	142	39
De Soto	31358	384	123	26
Forrest	13302	245	283	60
Franklin	1177	28	41	5
George	4829	77	68	9
Greene	2122	47	57	6
Grenada	3634	108	156	32
Hancock	7632	124	72	15
Harrison	33686	518	531	77
Hinds	31530	609	850	139
Holmes	2649	87	109	20
Humphreys	1282	38	35	9
Issaquena	193	7	0	0
Itawamba	4524	104	135	24
Jackson	24062	365	283	41
Jasper	3214	62	46	2
Jefferson	931	34	41	7
Jefferson Davis	1696	42	9	1
Jones	13625	235	236	43
Kemper	1403	41	50	10
Lafayette	8350	137	199	56
Lamar	10378	134	56	12
Lauderdale	11784	308	481	105
Lawrence	2087	37	27	2
Leake	4036	87	99	17
Lee	15222	225	225	43
Leflore	4583	141	240	55
Lincoln	5364	134	205	40
Lowndes	10709	181	279	64
Madison	14407	277	416	72
Marion	4169	105	162	24
Marshall	6268	130	69	17
Monroe	6632	173	191	55
Montgomery	1758	56	64	10
Neshoba	6555	203	226	59
Newton	3764	78	87	15
Noxubee	1825	40	38	6
Oktibbeha	7059	125	270	38
Panola	6413	128	103	15
Pearl River	9301	235	210	42
Perry	2029	54	24	9
Pike	5682	150	173	42
Pontotoc	6449	96	86	13
Prentiss	4591	81	101	15
Quitman	1052	27	0	0
Rankin	21680	384	489	68
Scott	4664	96	116	19
Sharkey	634	20	45	8
Simpson	4383	116	160	20
Smith	2590	49	72	8
Stone	3552	63	87	14
Sunflower	4196	104	124	20
Tallahatchie	2232	51	50	7
Tate	4484	106	80	19
Tippah	4577	81	120	14
Tishomingo	3481	89	103	28
Tunica	1561	36	19	3
Union	5864	93	132	23
Walthall	2139	62	69	14
Warren	6568	173	173	38
Washington	7297	155	200	41
Wayne	4369	72	80	13
Webster	2000	45	67	14
Wilkinson	1026	37	25	6
Winston	3097	91	130	39
Yalobusha	2285	47	82	22
Yazoo	4308	86	150	20
Total	491,724	9,749	11,249	2,081