The 7-day average of new COVID-19 coronavirus cases in Mississippi fell to an 8-month low on Wednesday, state officials reported.

Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) officials reported Wednesday that 163 new coronavirus cases were found between 3 p.m. Monday and 3 p.m. Tuesday.

The new cases reported on Wednesday bring the total number of cases found in the state since the pandemic began to 792,129.

MSDH reported 22 new deaths on Wednesday, bringing the total death toll to 12,228.

Through Wednesday, 51 percent of the total Mississippi population has been fully vaccinated. The number of fully vaccinated Mississippians remains below the U.S. average of 65 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 Wednesday to 216. It was the lowest 7-day, daily average since early July 2021.

The 14-day, daily average of new cases rose slightly to 299 with Wednesday’s update. The two-week average has not been that low since mid-November 2021.

The numbers seemingly have dropped so low that MSDH officials have decided to no longer report county-by-county numbers daily. They will instead summarize them weekly.