Despite decreases in hospitalizations and ventilator use statewide, the Mississippi State Department of Health reported nearly 500 new cases of COVID-19 Monday, the highest daily increase since the outbreak began.

At a news conference, State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs attributed many of the new cases to reporting backlogs, but cautioned that the virus was still spreading from people out in the community. 

“I assure you and want to ensure the doubters that coronavirus is still a real threat,” he said.

MSDH reported six new cases of COVID-19 in Lauderdale County, for a total of 785.

Records show 70 people from the county have died from COVID-19.

As of Monday, Anderson Regional Medical Center reported it was hospitalizing 16 patients who have tested positive for the virus, the lowest number of COVID-19 patients since May 4.

Rush Foundation Hospital is not reporting daily COVID-19 hospitalizations.

MSDH confirmed 498 new cases of COVID-19 in Mississippi, for a total of 17,768 and 20 additional deaths, for a total of 837 deaths statewide. The health department said nine of the deaths occurred between May 13 and June 1 and were identified from death certificate reports.

As of Saturday, records show 357 Mississippians with COVID-19 were being hospitalized, a decrease of 51 patients from the day before.

The number of patients on ventilators statewide dropped from 83 to 69 between Friday and Saturday, according to MSDH.

Recently released state records show 73 of those who have died from the virus in Mississippi were residents of nursing homes in East Mississippi.

Seven nursing homes in Lauderdale County have active outbreaks of the virus, and all but one of those facilities have reported numerous deaths of residents, according to health department records.

The Mississippi State Department of Health released detailed information about long-term care facility outbreaks Wednesday, following requests by several news organizations, including The Meridian Star. The data is provided through self-reporting from the facilities, according to MSDH.

The information will be updated weekly and does not include cases or deaths from prior outbreaks, according to the health department website.

Records show 14 residents at Diversicare of Meridian have died from COVID-19 and 25 employees and 46 residents have tested positive for the virus.

At The Oaks Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center in Meridian, 10 residents have died from COVID-19 and there are confirmed cases in 19 employees and 39 residents, according to data.

The Reginald P. White Nursing Facility, affiliated with East Mississippi State Hospital in Meridian, reported seven residents have died from COVID-19 and 21 employees and 24 residents have tested positive for the virus.

The James T. Champion Nursing Facility, also affiliated with EMSH, reported four residents have died from COVID-19 and it confirmed cases in 25 employees and 24 residents.

According to the Mississippi Department of Mental Health, as of June 3, there were 15 active cases among residents and eight active cases among employees in both of the EMSH nursing homes.

There have been 22 recoveries of nursing home residents and 34 recoveries of nursing home employees at EMSH, the department said.

At Queen City Nursing Center in Meridian, five residents have died from COVID-19 and 23 employees and 21 residents have tested positive for the virus, records show.

Trend Healthcare and Rehabilitation of Meridian reported four residents have died from COVID-19 and 14 employees and 20 residents have tested positive for the virus.

Bedford Care Center of Marion reported three cases of COVID-19 in employees.

In Neshoba County, at the Choctaw Residential Center, records show 20 residents have died from COVID-19 and 30 employees and 66 residents have tested positive for the virus.

At the Neshoba County Nursing Home in Philadelphia, one resident has died from COVID-19, and one employee and one resident have tested positive for the virus, records show.

One resident of Hilltop Manor Health and Rehabilitation Center in Union has tested positive for COVID-19, according to the data.

In Kemper County at the Mississippi Care Center of DeKalb, records show eight residents have died from COVID-19 and 26 employees and 41 residents have tested positive for the virus.

Bedford Care Center of Newton reported three employees and one resident tested positive for COVID-19.

Records show that at Bedford Care Center of Hattiesburg, 25 residents have died from COVID-19 and 55 employees and 92 residents have tested positive for the virus.

Bedford Care Center released a statement in response to the list of outbreaks that said, in part, that it took “extraordinary measures to ensure the safety of our residents, well beyond the CDC’s recommended guidelines.”

The statement referred to the difficulty of stopping a virus in a densely populated facility where caregivers are in constant contact with residents, many of whom have been diagnosed with dementia.

“It is nearly impossible to ask a patient with dementia to wear a mask, wash their hands or keep a social distance from others,” the statement said. “Our goal through the end of this is to unite and learn from the mistakes made early on as a nation so we aren’t doomed to repeat them, which means paying more attention to the most vulnerable among us.”

Diversicare declined comment for this report. Other Lauderdale County nursing homes that reported outbreaks did not respond to requests for comment.

Cases and Deaths by County

Totals of all reported cases since March 11, including those in long-term care (LTC) facilities.

County	Total Cases	Total Deaths	Total LTC Facility Cases	Total LTC Facility Deaths
Adams	222	17	43	10
Alcorn	22	1	0	0
Amite	66	2	12	2
Attala	317	20	89	17
Benton	16	0	1	0
Bolivar	176	11	19	4
Calhoun	72	4	23	4
Carroll	120	11	45	9
Chickasaw	153	15	35	10
Choctaw	58	2	0	0
Claiborne	127	7	42	6
Clarke	163	21	17	9
Clay	134	4	0	0
Coahoma	139	4	0	0
Copiah	357	4	1	0
Covington	190	2	1	0
Desoto	633	11	18	4
Forrest	635	40	92	28
Franklin	29	2	3	1
George	31	2	1	0
Greene	47	1	15	0
Grenada	127	4	17	2
Hancock	93	12	8	3
Harrison	288	7	3	2
Hinds	1164	26	85	13
Holmes	461	31	96	15
Humphreys	74	7	17	5
Issaquena	0	0	0	0
Itawamba	92	8	33	7
Jackson	329	16	38	5
Jasper	184	4	0	0
Jefferson	50	1	0	0
Jefferson Davis	85	3	4	1
Jones	777	36	107	21
Kemper	163	11	37	8
Lafayette	157	4	40	1
Lamar	262	5	3	2
Lauderdale	785	70	177	45
Lawrence	109	1	0	0
Leake	466	12	2	0
Lee	237	9	35	3
Leflore	309	42	96	28
Lincoln	300	32	92	25
Lowndes	274	9	19	5
Madison	807	29	100	15
Marion	127	9	15	2
Marshall	93	3	0	0
Monroe	280	25	93	22
Montgomery	86	1	0	0
Neshoba	772	47	69	22
Newton	301	5	4	0
Noxubee	204	6	15	3
Oktibbeha	300	16	93	13
Panola	102	3	0	0
Pearl River	217	31	46	11
Perry	52	3	0	0
Pike	211	11	14	6
Pontotoc	60	3	3	1
Prentiss	57	3	21	3
Quitman	32	0	0	0
Rankin	485	9	3	0
Scott	673	12	13	2
Sharkey	7	0	0	0
Simpson	108	0	2	0
Smith	168	11	51	8
Stone	34	0	0	0
Sunflower	103	3	0	0
Tallahatchie	35	1	0	0
Tate	103	1	2	0
Tippah	84	11	0	0
Tishomingo	41	0	1	0
Tunica	58	3	12	2
Union	92	7	19	6
Walthall	76	0	0	0
Warren	214	12	38	8
Washington	215	8	7	1
Wayne	328	4	1	0
Webster	98	6	19	4
Wilkinson	85	9	5	2
Winston	136	1	0	0
Yalobusha	121	7	35	7
Yazoo	310	6	18	2
Total	17,768	837	2,065	435

–Mississippi State Department of Health