COVID-19 surging in Mississippi

Originally published on the Wesson News Surging COVID-19 cases in Mississippi over the past few weeks include a 12 percent spike in Lincoln County. In Lincoln County, which is now under a mask-wearing mandate ordered by Governor Tate Reeves,  more than 1,700 cases total have been recorded.  Due to the increasing number of cases in the area, the Brookhaven and Lawrence County School Districts switched to virtual learning in mid-November until after Thanksgiving. The Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) reported 8,000 new cases per week in late November similar to the surge in July and August, which saw a 13-day stretch with more than 8,000 new weekly cases.  The number of hospitalizations also started surging, with the seven-day rolling averages up thirty-two percent, ICU patients increasing by thirty-two percent, and patients on ventilators increasing by thirty-six percent. Overall, the state’s ICUs are 8% full, with COVID-19 patients comprising 26% of all ICU beds. Sixteen of the state’s highest level COVID-care centers are at 86% capacity, and five of them — both Baptist Memorial Hospitals in Southaven and in the Golden Triangle, University of Mississippi Medical Center and St. Dominic in Jackson, and the Delta Regional Medical Center in Greenville — have zero ICU beds available. According to the latest White House task force report, Mississippi’s test positivity rate is now fourteen percent. Mississippi has moved from “orange” to “red” on the Global Health Institute’s risk level tracker, meaning it now averages over 25 daily new cases per 100,000 residents.  Despite the rise in cases in the state, Mississippi now ranks thirty-first in new cases per capita.   In addition to Lincoln County, other Mississippi counties with large increases in cases COVID-19 cases include Choctaw (15%), Stone (12%), Attala (12%) and Marshall (12%).   MSDH reports that 116,683 Mississippians have recovered from COVID-19