Rising COVID-19 cases linked to Delta variant

An updated report by the New York Times tags Mississippi and DeSoto County as places where average COVID-19 cases have started to rise again, amid new concerns about the need for vaccinations as the new Delta variant is becoming more prevalent in the state and nation.  

The seven-day average for coronavirus cases, according to the report, has DeSoto County at 18 coronavirus cases, as of July 13, or just under 10 per 100,000 people (9.9).  The DeSoto County figure is the fourth highest in the state, behind Hinds (68), Rankin (26) and Harrison (22).  

Over the past 14 days, the county’s number of cases has now increased by 41 percent. The average number of hospital patients with COVID-19 in the past 14 days is at eight per capita, an increase of 29 percent for DeSoto County. 

Similarly, Mississippi’s numbers are also rising, according to the report, which takes its figures from official Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) data. 

Average daily cases in the Magnolia State are at 320, or a 14-day average increase of 81 percent. Meanwhile, the average number of tests is 1,222 in the state, a decrease of eight percent.  The average number of deaths from COVID-19 in Mississippi is at four, a 14-day average increase of 18 percent. 

A third of Mississippians (34 percent) have been fully vaccinated and 37 percent of state residents have gotten at least one dose.  The percentage of DeSoto County residents that have been fully vaccinated is at 33 percent.  

By comparison, 48.2 percent of Americans have been fully vaccinated and 55.6 percent have gotten one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.  

Medical experts have said the vast majority of people being hospitalized have not been vaccinated and the emergence of the highly-contagious Delta variant is behind the hospitalizations.  

The Mississippi breakdown is found on the New York Times website.