New COVID-19 coronavirus cases continued to be recorded by the thousands yesterday, Mississippi health department officials reported.

Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) officials reported Thursday that 8,329 new coronavirus cases were found in the 24-hour period that ended at 3 p.m. Tuesday.

Since January 1, 130,136 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,  statistically, 1 in every 23 Mississippians has tested positive for the virus since the start of January.

The additional cases reported Thursday bring the total number of cases found in the state since the pandemic began to 673,873.

Although health experts say the new omicron variant tends to require less hospital care than previous variants, the massive number of new cases in this wave is still causing hospitalizations to grow rapidly.

Through Wednesday, 1,495 patients were hospitalized with confirmed COVID-19, the state health department reported. At the peak during last summer’s delta variant wave hospitalizations hit a high mark of 1,667 on August 19, 2021.

MSDH reported 17 new deaths on Thursday, bringing the total death toll to 10,707.

Through Thursday, 49 percent of the total Mississippi population has been fully vaccinated. The number of fully vaccinated Mississippians remains below the U.S. average of 63 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 dipped slightly Thursday to 6,935.

The 14-day, daily average of new cases rose to 6,721 with Thursday’s update. It was another 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	5886	125	89	18
Alcorn	8129	122	131	20
Amite	2704	59	57	9
Attala	4085	91	190	36
Benton	1945	42	47	10
Bolivar	7951	157	240	33
Calhoun	3901	52	44	7
Carroll	2263	42	52	11
Chickasaw	4592	79	61	15
Choctaw	1694	27	13	0
Claiborne	1908	42	46	9
Clarke	3606	96	132	32
Clay	4418	80	41	5
Coahoma	5618	116	138	14
Copiah	6031	96	109	15
Covington	6235	98	157	39
De Soto	43429	473	131	27
Forrest	18100	268	317	61
Franklin	1637	34	46	5
George	6140	80	75	9
Greene	2641	50	69	6
Grenada	4788	113	156	32
Hancock	9955	141	140	22
Harrison	43863	577	601	81
Hinds	46821	679	859	140
Holmes	3839	94	117	20
Humphreys	1748	39	35	9
Issaquena	221	7	0	0
Itawamba	6121	115	136	24
Jackson	31821	398	323	41
Jasper	4133	66	46	2
Jefferson	1299	35	41	7
Jefferson Davis	2502	43	14	1
Jones	17767	251	282	45
Kemper	1859	42	50	10
Lafayette	12413	155	202	57
Lamar	14453	142	63	12
Lauderdale	15980	326	499	108
Lawrence	2972	45	27	2
Leake	5290	92	102	17
Lee	22969	255	224	43
Leflore	6716	145	260	56
Lincoln	6831	141	210	41
Lowndes	14670	203	306	69
Madison	20688	290	416	72
Marion	5808	122	170	24
Marshall	8477	150	69	17
Monroe	9224	187	192	55
Montgomery	2608	61	74	11
Neshoba	8734	211	232	61
Newton	4869	86	89	15
Noxubee	2377	46	42	6
Oktibbeha	9102	141	272	40
Panola	9068	141	103	15
Pearl River	12397	248	234	42
Perry	2588	57	31	9
Pike	7746	160	178	44
Pontotoc	8659	118	88	13
Prentiss	6774	89	101	15
Quitman	1394	28	0	0
Rankin	30545	422	502	69
Scott	5864	101	119	19
Sharkey	782	21	45	8
Simpson	5924	122	169	20
Smith	3415	57	77	8
Stone	4513	67	99	14
Sunflower	5285	111	129	21
Tallahatchie	2798	53	50	7
Tate	6143	125	80	19
Tippah	6064	89	121	14
Tishomingo	4990	99	103	28
Tunica	2265	41	20	3
Union	8095	104	133	23
Walthall	2924	70	69	14
Warren	8928	184	175	38
Washington	9056	171	213	41
Wayne	4958	73	82	13
Webster	2640	51	66	14
Wilkinson	1671	41	25	6
Winston	4220	95	135	39
Yalobusha	3391	48	83	22
Yazoo	6945	94	152	20
Total	673,873	10,707	11,816	2,119