Mississippi reports another 246 COVID-19 cases and 11 deaths, three new cases in Warren County

The Mississippi State Department of Health reports three additional confirmed COVID-19 cases in Warren County bringing the cumulative number of cases to 68 on Thursday. The county’s death toll is unchanged and stands at two.

Mississippi is still seeing a steep rise in new COVID-19 cases. New cases reported as of 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 29 is 246, bringing the total cases to 6,815.

Another 11 Mississippians died of the virus yesterday, bringing the number of deaths in the state to 261.

The number of estimated COVID-19 cases presumed recovered in Mississippi is 3,413 as of Wednesday, April 29. This figure will be updated weekly.

MSDH reports new statistics on the COVID-19 coronavirus each morning based on the previous day’s testing and death reports.

The number of individual cases in long-term care facilities has not been updated today. As of yesterday, the cases totaled 752, and the number of facilities under active investigation was 88. Even one case is a long-term care facility is considered an outbreak because of the ages and poor health of many residents. Long-term care facilities include nursing homes, intermediate care facilities for individuals with intellectual disabilities, personal care homes, assisted living facilities, long-term acute care facilities, and psychiatric or chemical dependency residential treatment centers.

Neighboring Hinds County, still the state’s virus epicenter, is reporting 470 cases Thursday, an increase of 20 since yesterday, and eight deaths, an increase of one. Thirteen cases in long-term care facilities were under investigation in Hinds County yesterday.

In other neighboring counties, Claiborne reports 22 cases, up two since yesterday, and Sharkey reports five cases, unchanged since yesterday. Neither Claiborne nor Sharkey has any reported deaths from the virus. Yazoo County reports 135 cases, up one since yesterday and one death. Issaquena County remains the only county in the state without any reported cases.

In all, 20 Mississippi counties are reporting more than 125 cases each. Deaths reported in the counties are in the single digits except for Forrest (12, up two since yesterday), Lauderdale (20, up one), Leflore (17, up one), Lincoln (10), Monroe (14, up one) and Pearl River (19, up one) counties. Lincoln County was added to that list today.

Cases and deaths from the virus are heavily skewed toward African Americans, and MSDH is reporting racial breakdowns of each county’s statistics, available on its website. As of today, 52.1% of cases (3,550) and 57.5% of COVID-19 deaths (150) in Mississippi were among African Americans.

Almost all of the COVID-19 deaths in Mississippi occurred among people with underlying health conditions, including obesity, lung disease and diabetes. The health of African Americans is contributing to their higher rate of death from COVID-19.

All age groups have been affected by the disease, including children under 18, with 224 cases, up 13 since yesterday. As of today, MSDH reports 19 cases in infants less than one year old, up four since yesterday. No deaths among juveniles have been reported in Mississippi.

Deaths and hospitalizations from the virus occur most frequently among those 60 and older. As of Wednesday evening, 753 of Mississippi’s cumulative 1,176 hospitalizations, or 64%, were among people over 60, and 89.7% of the state’s deaths (234) have been people over 60.

Current hospitalizations increased Wednesday to 436 in patients with confirmed COVID-19 infections, an increase of one patient. Another 203 hospitalized patients are suspected of being infected but have not been confirmed. The overall trend for patients in intensive care units and on ventilators seems to be holding fairly steady.

Source: MSDH

The rate of hospitalizations for those diagnosed with COVID-19 is below the national average. From a high of more than 30%, the rate stands at 19.6% as of today. The national average for hospitalizations has seen a steady rise and now stands at 29.2 per 100,000 for the week ending April 24, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; however, the rate skyrockets to 95.5 per 100,000 for those 65 and older.

The number of people tested in Mississippi as of April 28 is 66,094, with 53,759 tests, or about 81%, performed by private labs. The number of tests completed by the MSDH Public Health Laboratory through April 29 is 12,321, with 1,491 positive results, a rate of 12%.

Anyone with symptoms of fever, severe cough or severe chest pains – especially those who are older or in poor health – should arrange for testing with their doctor or one of the many health-care providers now performing testing, although not having a fever may not eliminate you from being tested. Healthcare providers can assess your health history and symptoms and perform testing for COVID-19 as needed. MSDH is also helping conduct free drive-up testing sites in many parts of the state. Always call ahead to the testing provider for instructions on safely being examined before you visit for your test.

Find a COVID-19 testing provider near you

For more information, visit the MSDH website or call the hotline at 877-978-6453, available 24/7.

Mississippi COVID-19 cases and deaths to date:
(Updated cases for long-term care facilities are not available today.)