New COVID-19 coronavirus cases continue to decline across Mississippi Thursday particularly compared the spikes over the last two months, but they remain at levels five times the lows seen in June before the Delta variant raged through the state.

Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) officials reported Thursday that 528 new coronavirus cases were found in the last 24 hours.

The additional cases reported Thursday brings the total number of cases found in the state since the pandemic began to 497,379, 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 300 Mississippians has died from the virus.

MSDH reported 7 new deaths on Thursday, bringing the total death toll to 9,907.

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, 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 530 on Thursday. The last time the weekly average was lower was July 18. While much lower than the spikes seen in August and September, the current weekly average of daily cases is still more than five times the June lows.

The 14-day, daily average of new cases dropped to 642 with Thursday’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	4570	119	88	18
Alcorn	5630	100	130	20
Amite	2034	54	57	9
Attala	3301	89	187	36
Benton	1470	38	47	10
Bolivar	6264	145	239	33
Calhoun	2776	45	44	7
Carroll	1673	38	52	11
Chickasaw	2965	67	61	15
Choctaw	1330	26	12	0
Claiborne	1310	37	46	9
Clarke	2902	94	133	32
Clay	3058	75	41	5
Coahoma	4114	104	138	13
Copiah	4446	91	104	14
Covington	4271	94	142	39
De Soto	31806	398	124	26
Forrest	13401	250*	283	60
Franklin	1191	28	41	5
George	4904	79	71	9
Greene	2154	48	57	6
Grenada	3691	108	156	32
Hancock	7690	126	72	15
Harrison	34085	530	531	77
Hinds	31796	621	852	139
Holmes	2665	87	109	20
Humphreys	1288	38	35	9
Issaquena	193	7	0	0
Itawamba	4590	104	135	24
Jackson	24303	377	284	41
Jasper	3280	65	46	2
Jefferson	942	34	41	7
Jefferson Davis	1706	42	9	1
Jones	13770	241	236	43
Kemper	1412	41	50	10
Lafayette	8450	137	199	56
Lamar	10461	135	56	12
Lauderdale	11936	314	481	107
Lawrence	2111	40	27	2
Leake	4072	87	99	17
Lee	15413	233	226	43
Leflore	4626	143	240	55
Lincoln	5416	134	205	40
Lowndes	10908	184	280	64
Madison	14513	278	416	72
Marion	4206	107	162	24
Marshall	6378	132	69	17
Monroe	6713	173	191	55
Montgomery	1789	56	64	10
Neshoba	6606	204	228	60
Newton	3808	79	87	15
Noxubee	1849	40	41	6
Oktibbeha	7110	129	270	39
Panola	6458	131	103	15
Pearl River	9428	237	210	42
Perry	2045	55*	24	9
Pike	5780	152	173	43
Pontotoc	6603	101	86	13
Prentiss	4641	81	101	15
Quitman	1062	27	0	0
Rankin	21852	387	492	68
Scott	4706	98	116	19
Sharkey	640	20	45	8
Simpson	4419	116	161	20
Smith	2625	50	72	8
Stone	3582	64	87	14
Sunflower	4215	104	124	20
Tallahatchie	2252	51	50	7
Tate	4539	109	80	19
Tippah	4649	81	120	14
Tishomingo	3559	91	103	28
Tunica	1585	39	19	3
Union	5951	94	132	23
Walthall	2176	63	69	14
Warren	6635	175	173	38
Washington	7361	156	203	41
Wayne	4385	72	80	13
Webster	2016	45	67	14
Wilkinson	1043	39	25	6
Winston	3128	91	131	39
Yalobusha	2323	47	82	22
Yazoo	4375	86	151	20
Total	497,379	9,907	11,273	2,086