Mississippi’s weekly average number of new COVID-19 coronavirus cases continues to drift lower and now sits at the lowest level in nearly three months.

Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) officials reported Friday that 411 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 497,790, 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 10 new deaths on Friday, bringing the total death toll to 9,917.

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 57 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 503 on Friday. 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 approximately five times the June lows.

The 14-day, daily average of new cases dropped to 612 with Friday’s update.

Cumulative Cases and Deaths by County