State health officials, frustrated by what they see as a failure among many Mississippians to adhere to social distancing guidelines, gave a stern warning about the rise in COVID-19 cases Thursday. 

“This reckless social behavior is going to harm the whole state,” said State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs. “I’m absolutely terrified that we’re going to overwhelm the health care system.” 

The warnings came after the Mississippi State Department of Health reported the highest daily increase in COVID-19 cases Thursday, 1,092, surpassing a record set Tuesday, 611. 

The new cases bring the state’s total to 24,516.

“The reality is that these 1,000 cases are not tied to any one particular event,” said State Epidemiologist Dr. Paul Byers. “They’re not tied to one particular county. We are seeing community transmission throughout Mississippi.”

MSDH reported five additional deaths Thursday, for a total of 1,016 deaths statewide. 

The agency said cases are rising fastest among young adults who are failing to take proper safeguards.

“If we’re not careful, Mississippi’s going to look like New York at the height of the pandemic,” Dobbs said.

He said people should not attribute the increased cases to testing. 

In Lauderdale County, the health department confirmed eight new cases of COVID-19, for a total of 864, and 78 total deaths. 

The health department confirmed 193 cases and 22 deaths in Clarke County, 170 cases and 13 deaths in Kemper County, 922 cases and 63 deaths in Neshoba County and 325 cases and eight deaths in Newton County. 

Currently, there are 526 Mississippians hospitalized with confirmed COVID-19 infection and 219 hospitalized with suspected infection, MSDH said.

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	242	18	43	10
Alcorn	47	1	1	0
Amite	81	2	12	2
Attala	341	23	89	19
Benton	25	0	1	0
Bolivar	233	13	24	4
Calhoun	108	4	23	4
Carroll	141	11	45	9
Chickasaw	217	18	36	11
Choctaw	68	3	0	0
Claiborne	200	10	43	8
Clarke	193	22	19	9
Clay	229	7	0	0
Coahoma	175	6	0	0
Copiah	528	12	29	3
Covington	253	5	1	0
Desoto	1091	15	18	4
Forrest	759	42	95	29
Franklin	32	2	3	1
George	60	3	1	0
Greene	75	5	30	3
Grenada	252	4	17	2
Hancock	112	13	8	4
Harrison	562	7	15	2
Hinds	1772	34	92	13
Holmes	501	39	98	19
Humphreys	107	9	18	6
Issaquena	2	0	0	0
Itawamba	112	8	34	7
Jackson	458	16	44	5
Jasper	221	6	0	0
Jefferson	69	3	1	0
Jefferson Davis	94	3	3	1
Jones	994	48	144	31
Kemper	170	13	37	9
Lafayette	303	4	42	1
Lamar	369	7	3	2
Lauderdale	864	78	193	49
Lawrence	140	1	0	0
Leake	520	17	3	0
Lee	429	15	61	9
Leflore	439	48	168	33
Lincoln	411	32	110	25
Lowndes	412	10	19	6
Madison	1082	31	120	16
Marion	215	10	15	2
Marshall	160	3	4	0
Monroe	328	28	94	24
Montgomery	110	2	0	0
Neshoba	922	63	77	25
Newton	325	8	4	0
Noxubee	234	7	15	3
Oktibbeha	448	21	110	16
Panola	221	5	2	1
Pearl River	232	32	47	12
Perry	56	4	0	0
Pike	321	11	21	6
Pontotoc	175	3	3	1
Prentiss	85	3	24	3
Quitman	56	0	0	0
Rankin	682	12	22	0
Scott	721	14	13	2
Sharkey	20	0	0	0
Simpson	187	2	2	0
Smith	199	11	52	8
Stone	48	1	0	0
Sunflower	209	6	0	0
Tallahatchie	85	1	2	0
Tate	221	5	17	3
Tippah	115	11	0	0
Tishomingo	58	1	2	0
Tunica	81	3	12	2
Union	150	8	20	7
Walthall	163	3	0	0
Warren	371	16	39	9
Washington	369	9	7	1
Wayne	461	9	17	1
Webster	124	10	52	9
Wilkinson	87	9	5	2
Winston	217	4	12	1
Yalobusha	141	7	35	7
Yazoo	426	6	19	2
Total	24,516	1,016	2,487	503