Mississippi reported Friday that more than 425 new COVID-19 coronavirus cases have been found in the last 24 hours, the latest figures lowered the weekly average number of new cases.

Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) officials reported Friday that 426 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 510,748, meaning that 17 percent of all Mississippians have tested positive for the virus since the pandemic began.

Statistics indicate that approximately 1 in every 292 Mississippians has died from the virus.

MSDH reported seven new deaths on Friday, bringing the total death toll to 10,229.

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, 47 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 59 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 fell to 327 on Friday. That’s approximately three times the lowest levels seen in the early part of the summer.

The 14-day, daily average of new cases dropped to 299 with Friday’s update.

Cumulative Cases and Deaths by County