New COVID-19 coronavirus cases continue to rocket higher; Since Christmas approximately 1 in 55 Mississippians has contracted the virus

Published 12:02 pm Thursday, January 6, 2022

New cases of the COVID-19 coronavirus continued to soar Thursday with thousands more infections identified in the last 24 hours, breaking both the single-day and 7-day average records again.

Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) officials reported Thursday that 7,079 new coronavirus cases were found in the last 24 hours.

Since just after Christmas (approximately 12 days ago) a staggering 54,271 cases have been officially logged, though the number is likely much higher due to at-home tests typically not being reported to the state health department.  To put the rapid spread in perspective,  since Christmas approximately 1 in every 55 Mississippians has tested positive for the virus.

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The additional cases reported Thursday brings the total number of cases found in the state since the pandemic began to 579,773.

Fortunately, so far at least, health experts say the number of hospitalizations from this wave have been less than feared, but are still growing rapidly.

Through Tuesday, 785 patients were hospitalized with confirmed COVID-19, the state health department reported. By comparison at the beginning of December less than 200 COVID patients were hospitalized.

MSDH reported eight new deaths on Thursday, bringing the total death toll to 10,511.

Through Wednesday, 49 percent of the total Mississippi population has been fully vaccinated. The number of fully vaccinated Mississippians remains below the U.S. average of 62 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 soared Thursday to 5,148. The new 7-day, daily average shattered the previous record set yesterday.

The 14-day, daily average of new cases rose sharply to 3,877 with Thursday’s update. It was a new all-time high.

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 5226 125 88 18
Alcorn 6723 118 130 20
Amite 2328 59 57 9
Attala 3721 90 189 36
Benton 1747 42 47 10
Bolivar 7070 155 240 33
Calhoun 3167 51 44 7
Carroll 1978 41 52 11
Chickasaw 3745 75 61 15
Choctaw 1469 27 12 0
Claiborne 1527 41 46 9
Clarke 3152 96 132 32
Clay 3657 78 41 5
Coahoma 4977 114 138 14
Copiah 5243 95 109 15
Covington 4955 97 145 39
De Soto 38524 447 129 27
Forrest 15318 265 289 61
Franklin 1391 33 46 5
George 5341 80 73 9
Greene 2366 50 59 6
Grenada 4176 112 156 32
Hancock 8525 134 88 17
Harrison 37914 569 547 80
Hinds 40368 657 856 140
Holmes 3202 93 109 20
Humphreys 1493 39 35 9
Issaquena 198 7 0 0
Itawamba 5318 112 136 24
Jackson 27175 396 293 41
Jasper 3719 66 46 2
Jefferson 1071 35 41 7
Jefferson Davis 2091 43 14 1
Jones 15266 250 270 45
Kemper 1579 42 50 10
Lafayette 10369 143 202 57
Lamar 11979 140 57 12
Lauderdale 13469 324 499 108
Lawrence 2542 44 27 2
Leake 4594 92 102 17
Lee 19251 249 224 43
Leflore 5876 144 243 55
Lincoln 6034 138 209 41
Lowndes 12452 200 305 69
Madison 17667 284 416 72
Marion 4815 117 162 24
Marshall 7555 149 69 17
Monroe 7895 183 191 55
Montgomery 2150 58 64 10
Neshoba 7355 210 229 61
Newton 4212 84 89 15
Noxubee 2040 44 41 6
Oktibbeha 7964 141 270 40
Panola 7640 140 103 15
Pearl River 10632 245 211 42
Perry 2261 57 27 9
Pike 6748 159 178 44
Pontotoc 7762 114 87 13
Prentiss 5697 88 101 15
Quitman 1223 28 0 0
Rankin 26205 415 500 69
Scott 5275 101 119 19
Sharkey 698 21 45 8
Simpson 5196 117 167 20
Smith 2904 54 77 8
Stone 3896 67 90 14
Sunflower 4801 110 125 20
Tallahatchie 2564 53 50 7
Tate 5329 121 80 19
Tippah 5415 87 122 14
Tishomingo 4227 99 103 28
Tunica 1968 40 19 3
Union 7101 100 133 23
Walthall 2442 67 69 14
Warren 7655 181 175 38
Washington 8079 171 212 41
Wayne 4586 73 80 13
Webster 2286 50 66 14
Wilkinson 1311 39 25 6
Winston 3506 94 135 39
Yalobusha 2903 48 83 22
Yazoo 5524 94 152 20
Total 579,773 10,511 11,501 2,110