Another COVID-19 milestone in DeSoto County

DeSoto County Friday passed the 8,000 mark for coronavirus cases during the current pandemic, according to new figures from the Mississippi State Department of Health. 

The updated figures have DeSoto County with 8,036 positive cases of the virus since the pandemic was declared in March. The county has seen 82 people succumb to the virus, or whose deaths were attributed to COVID-19. 

Friday’s update did not include any new deaths in DeSoto County. The MSDH report indicates 967 new cases of coronavirus and 14 new deaths in Mississippi. Long-term care outbreaks increased by 113 in the state on Friday.  

A total of 124,854 positive cases have now been recorded in Mississippi and there have been 3,419 people in the state who have died.  Long-term care cases in the Magnolia State are now at 6,954 with 1,346 deaths.  

As of Nov. 4, there are 76 Mississippi patients on ventilators, 154 in an intensive care unit, 103 hospital patients with suspected infections, and 537 patients in hospitals with confirmed cases of coronavirus. There was a slight rise in ICU patients from the day before, but the other figures trended slightly downward.

Bed space in DeSoto County hospitals remains at the premium, according to the state health department.  

Of the 192 total staffed beds at Baptist Memorial Hospital-DeSoto in Southaven, there are 34 confirmed COVID-19 patients and 10 available staffed beds, according to MSDH. 

Of 36 available ICU unit beds at Baptist-DeSoto, there are five COVID patients in the ICU and one available ICU bed.  

Meanwhile, at Methodist-Olive Branch Hospital, of 42 total staffed beds in the facility, they have 13 confirmed COVID-19 patients and six available beds, while in the intensive care unit, there are two available beds and six adult COVID-19 patients in the ICU unit. The area has 12 intensive care unit beds.  

DeSoto County remains the “hot spot” in Mississippi with the most number of new coronavirus cases over the past two week period, from Oct. 12-28. MSDH reports there have been 961 new cases in that 14-day period, or 498.0 per 100,000 population.  In the week ending Oct. 31, DeSoto County recorded a 16.3 percent test positivity rate.  

Two-week case count numbers from the MSDH are found here.

Statewide, there have been 105,839 presumed recoveries from coronavirus of the over 124,000 total positive cases, a recovery percentage of 84.77 percent.  

The latest executive orders from Gov. Tate Reeves are scheduled to expire Nov. 11 unless they are extended. That includes Executive Order 1527, specific to certain counties, including DeSoto, which requires face coverings in public places, such as businesses, schools, and other indoor public places where social distancing is not possible. Group gatherings are limited to 10 people in a single indoor place and 50 in an outdoor space, again where social distancing is not possible.  

There are exceptions, such as for churches, students in classrooms, and gatherings that were covered in a more wide ranging executive order 1525, that is also set to expire next Wednesday, Nov. 11.  

A summary of the latest executive orders are found here.

Elsewhere, the United States recorded at least 121,054 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, according to Johns Hopkins Hospital. That is the biggest increase in cases since the pandemic started. Thursday was also the second straight day for the country to add more than 100,000 new cases a day to the rolls. 

New daily records Thursday were set in Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Utah, and Wisconsin.  

More than 9.6 million people have been infected with coronavirus nationally.