While new cases of the COVID-19 coronavirus being found in Mississippi at a pace unheard of just a month ago, the trends are improving, state health records indicate, but hospitalizations continue climbing, hitting a new record this week.

Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) officials reported Friday that 5,533 new coronavirus cases were found in the 24-hour period that ended at 3 p.m. Thursday.

Since January 1, 173,929 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 17 Mississippians has tested positive for the virus since the start of January.

The new cases reported Friday bring the total number of cases found in the state since the pandemic began to 717,666.

Although health experts say the 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, 1,708 patients were hospitalized with confirmed COVID-19, the state health department reported. That figure broke the previous record of 1,667 set during last summer’s delta variant wave on August 19, 2021.

MSDH reported 25 new deaths on Friday, bringing the total death toll to 10,831.

Through Friday, 50 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 dropped Friday to 5,183.

The 14-day, daily average of new cases dropped 5,931 with Friday’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	6221	129	90	18
Alcorn	8960	125	131	20
Amite	2869	59	57	9
Attala	4275	93	194	36
Benton	2040	43	47	10
Bolivar	8385	158	252	33
Calhoun	4205	52	44	7
Carroll	2387	43	52	11
Chickasaw	4969	81	62	15
Choctaw	1835	28	13	0
Claiborne	2033	42	46	9
Clarke	3838	96	132	32
Clay	4625	80	41	5
Coahoma	5942	116	138	14
Copiah	6300	97	109	15
Covington	6577	98	164	39
De Soto	45754	479	131	27
Forrest	19561	269	359	61
Franklin	1751	34	47	5
George	6586	81	75	9
Greene	2808	50	74	6
Grenada	5066	113	155	32
Hancock	10636	142	143	22
Harrison	46620	589	646	83
Hinds	49094	690	861	140
Holmes	4115	96	120	21
Humphreys	1846	39	35	9
Issaquena	240	7	0	0
Itawamba	6742	*116	135	24
Jackson	33817	400	388	41
Jasper	4376	66	46	2
Jefferson	1356	35	41	7
Jefferson Davis	2621	43	16	1
Jones	19400	259	304	46
Kemper	2024	43	50	10
Lafayette	13518	160	202	57
Lamar	15597	143	66	12
Lauderdale	17175	326	499	108
Lawrence	3199	45	28	2
Leake	5589	95	103	17
Lee	24532	259	225	43
Leflore	6987	146	268	56
Lincoln	7216	142	210	41
Lowndes	15693	208	306	69
Madison	21942	290	416	72
Marion	6398	125	173	24
Marshall	8891	154	69	17
Monroe	9750	189	192	55
Montgomery	2748	63	83	13
Neshoba	9491	211	232	61
Newton	5242	87	89	15
Noxubee	2539	46	42	6
Oktibbeha	9681	144	272	40
Panola	9523	143	103	15
Pearl River	13660	248	244	42
Perry	2761	57	41	9
Pike	8157	161	178	44
Pontotoc	9065	120	88	13
Prentiss	7311	90	101	15
Quitman	1471	28	0	0
Rankin	32794	423	503	69
Scott	6163	103	119	19
Sharkey	868	21	45	8
Simpson	6206	124	171	20
Smith	3640	59	80	8
Stone	4891	67	100	14
Sunflower	5491	111	134	21
Tallahatchie	2965	54	50	7
Tate	6469	127	80	19
Tippah	6326	91	120	14
Tishomingo	5443	100	103	28
Tunica	2367	41	19	3
Union	8573	106	133	23
Walthall	3152	70	69	14
Warren	9343	184	175	38
Washington	9418	171	219	41
Wayne	5163	73	83	13
Webster	2811	53	66	14
Wilkinson	1717	41	25	6
Winston	4625	96	135	39
Yalobusha	3694	50	84	22
Yazoo	7537	95	152	20
Total	717,666	10,831	12,093	2,125