COVID-19 update, county deaths near 250

Mississippi Tuesday reported an additional 183 positive cases of coronavirus and 18 new deaths related to the virus. The daily report from the Mississippi State Department of Health said there have been 306,341 total cases reported since the pandemic was declared. The total number of deaths reported in the state from coronavirus has now reached 7,073.  

DeSoto County has reported a total of 20,638 positive cases since the pandemic began and there have been 248 COVID-related deaths in the county.  

DeSoto County Schools had a shortened week with Friday off for Good Friday, so with only four classroom days last week, the district reported just eight new cases of coronavirus at its schools and 39 new quarantines.

Olive Branch Middle School was the hardest hit for COVID-19 last week, with two new cases and 27 of the 39 new quarantines.  

Six other schools reported new cases but all were just single case reports. Of the new quarantines reported to the district office, there were seven at Horn Lake Intermediate School, three at Lake Cormorant High School, and single quarantine reports at DeSoto Central High School and at Southaven High School.  

Just one new positive test report among district teachers and other staff members came in last week.  

MSDH has also updated its number of vaccinations for the virus that have been administered in Mississippi. As of Monday, April 5 at 8 a.m. the department reported 1,325,813 total doses have been given and 815,673 Mississippians have had at least one dose of the vaccine.  The department said 541,241 people have been fully vaccinated for coronavirus through its sites. 

The majority of the vaccines have been given through the MSDH drive-through locations, such as at the Landers Center in Southaven, with 348,401 first doses and 234,853 second doses. 

In DeSoto County, the MSDH report reflects 36,157 having received at least one dose, or 20 percent of the population, and 22,915 residents being fully vaccinated, or 12 percent of the county’s population.   

Still the infection rate for coronavirus continues to rise in Mississippi. According to 24/7 Wall Street, there have been 10,236 infections per 100,000 population. The state ranked 18th in the nation by cumulative COVID-19 cases, adjusted for population.  

In contrast, Tennessee is ranked higher than Mississippi at number five in the nation, with 12,018 infections per 100,000 population.  Arkansas was ranked ninth in the nation in the statistic, at 10,970 virus infections reported per 100,000 population.