Mississippi’s number of new COVID-19 coronavirus cases continued to climb Thursday as the state reported the latest statistics.

Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) officials reported Thursday that 745 new coronavirus cases were found in the last 24 hours. That put the weekly average of new, daily cases at 495, or 34 percent higher than the same average one week ago.

The additional cases reported Thursday brings the total number of cases found in the state since the pandemic began to 518,670.

Statistics indicate that approximately 1 in every 290 Mississippians has died from the virus.

MSDH reported five new deaths on Thursday, bringing the total death toll to 10,317.

Through Thursday, 48 percent of the total Mississippi population has been fully vaccinated. The number of fully vaccinated Mississippians has grown over the last several weeks but remains below the U.S. average of 60 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 rose to 495 on Thursday. It was the highest weekly average since October 26.

The 14-day, daily average of new cases rose to 431 with Thursday’s update.

Cumulative Cases and Deaths by County