Mississippi reported Friday its lowest number of new COVID-19 coronavirus cases found in a 24-hour period since mid-July, bringing the weekly average of new cases to less than one-third the level seen exactly one month ago.

Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) officials reported Friday that 601 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 494,271, 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 304 Mississippians has died from the virus.

MSDH reported 33 new deaths on Friday, bringing the total death toll to 9,811.

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, 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 722 on Friday. The last time the weekly average was lower was on July 21.

The 14-day, daily average of new cases dropped to 812 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	4528	119	88	18
Alcorn	5595	97	130	20
Amite	2026	53	57	9
Attala	3291	89	187	36
Benton	1466	38	47	10
Bolivar	6233	145	239	33
Calhoun	2751	45	44	7
Carroll	1651	38	52	11
Chickasaw	2938	67	61	15
Choctaw	1322	26	12	0
Claiborne	1292	36	46	9
Clarke	2880	93	133	32
Clay	3037	75	41	5
Coahoma	4094	104	138	13
Copiah	4393	89	103	14
Covington	4252	93	142	39
De Soto	31562	392	123	26
Forrest	13352	247	283	60
Franklin	1186	28	41	5
George	4866	79	68	9
Greene	2132	47	57	6
Grenada	3670	108	156	32
Hancock	7667	126	72	15
Harrison	33835	522	531	77
Hinds	31623	611	850	139
Holmes	2655	87	109	20
Humphreys	1284	38	35	9
Issaquena	193	7	0	0
Itawamba	4555	104	135	24
Jackson	24186	368	283	41
Jasper	3247	64	46	2
Jefferson	939	34	41	7
Jefferson Davis	1696	42	9	1
Jones	13707	238	236	43
Kemper	1405	41	50	10
Lafayette	8390	137	199	56
Lamar	10414	135	56	12
Lauderdale	11837	310	481	105
Lawrence	2094	38	27	2
Leake	4059	87	99	17
Lee	15317	229	225	43
Leflore	4596	142	240	55
Lincoln	5387	134	205	40
Lowndes	10786	182	279	64
Madison	14463	277	416	72
Marion	4183	106	162	24
Marshall	6311	130	69	17
Monroe	6661	173	191	55
Montgomery	1768	56	64	10
Neshoba	6570	204	226	60
Newton	3790	78	87	15
Noxubee	1847	40	41	6
Oktibbeha	7079	127	271	39
Panola	6424	129	103	15
Pearl River	9370	236	210	42
Perry	2034	54	24	9
Pike	5697	150	173	42
Pontotoc	6542	98	86	13
Prentiss	4615	81	101	15
Quitman	1054	27	0	0
Rankin	21761	384	489	68
Scott	4688	96	116	19
Sharkey	635	20	45	8
Simpson	4396	116	160	20
Smith	2610	49	72	8
Stone	3564	64	87	14
Sunflower	4208	104	124	20
Tallahatchie	2240	51	50	7
Tate	4512	107	80	19
Tippah	4622	81	120	14
Tishomingo	3528	89	103	28
Tunica	1569	38	19	3
Union	5899	93	132	23
Walthall	2145	63	69	14
Warren	6615	173	173	38
Washington	7326	155	203	41
Wayne	4376	72	80	13
Webster	2006	45	67	14
Wilkinson	1028	37	25	6
Winston	3106	91	130	39
Yalobusha	2302	47	82	22
Yazoo	4338	86	150	20
Total	494,271	9,811	11,256	2,082