The average number of COVID-19 daily hospitalizations in Lauderdale County decreased slightly from 16 in the first half of June, to 13 in the second half of the month, according to state records obtained by The Meridian Star through a public records request.

Records show Rush Foundation Hospital hospitalized an average of nine COVID-19 positive patients per day from June 17 to June 30.

The highest daily total of COVID-19 positive patients during that time was 11 on June 18 and 29 and the lowest daily total was seven on June 24, 25 and 26, according to the data.

Anderson Regional Medical Center hospitalized an average of 18 patients with COVID-19 per day for the same time period, health department records show.

The hospital’s highest daily total of COVID-19 positive patients during that time was 21 on June 28 and the lowest daily total was 12 on June 18, according to records.

While the totals are the latest available for the county through a public records request, statewide numbers show a steep upward trend over the past three weeks.

COVID-19 hospitalizations in Mississippi jumped from 489 on June 22 to 758 on Sunday. Records show 262 additional patients were hospitalized with suspected infection Sunday.

State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs ordered Friday the postponement of non-urgent surgeries and procedures requiring hospitalization statewide until at least July 20 “due to increasing COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations and increasing demands on the healthcare system.”

Anderson Regional Medical Center shared a message on Facebook Saturday from Chief of Staff, Dr. William Billups, III, urging the public to take the virus seriously, wear a mask and social distance.

“What folks don’t realize is that the capability to care for COVID patients is not the beds, it’s the people,” Billups said in the statement. “The fact that floors in the hospital are closed leads many in the public to conclude that this is a hoax and the hospital is not busy. The reality is the hospital is running at capacity even with a closed floor because those employees have been moved to COVID care.”

Billups said manpower is an issue at hospitals across the state.

“Initially we thought of the COVID situation as a temporary disaster to get through. The reality is this new normal of this awful disease is that it is going to be with us until there is an effective vaccine pushing healthcare workers to their limits mentally and physically.”

Gov. Tate Reeves said in a news conference Monday that Mississippi was in the middle of a spike, “the worst that it has ever been for spread of cases in our state.”

“It is the most stressed our hospital system has been, to date,” he said.

The Mississippi State Department of Health reported 393 new cases of COVID-19 in Mississippi Monday, for a total of 36,680 and one additional death, for a total of 1,250 deaths statewide.

Recent daily increases have been much higher, with 1,031 new cases reported Friday, 797 new cases reported Saturday and 868 new cases reported Sunday.

“Keep in mind, that likely represents a weekend reporting drop, wouldn’t count on this being a trend,” Dobbs said, referring to Monday’s numbers.

In Lauderdale County, the agency reported six new cases Monday, for a total of 972 with 81 total deaths.

As of Thursday, MSDH reported two ongoing outbreaks in long-term care facilities in East Mississippi.

James T. Champion Nursing Facility in Meridian, which is affiliated with East Mississippi State Hospital, reported one case of COVID-19 among staff.

Hilltop Manor Health and Rehabilitation Center in Neshoba County reported cumulative totals of five deaths among residents, 39 cases among residents and eight cases among staff.

Health department records show 228 cases and 25 deaths in Clarke County, 184 cases and 14 deaths in Kemper County, 1,045 cases and 77 deaths in Neshoba County and 377 cases and ten deaths in Newton 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	367	20	44	11
Alcorn	111	2	1	1
Amite	111	3	13	2
Attala	386	24	89	19
Benton	47	0	1	0
Bolivar	416	18	42	6
Calhoun	170	5	23	4
Carroll	183	11	45	9
Chickasaw	302	19	35	11
Choctaw	76	4	0	0
Claiborne	315	11	43	8
Clarke	228	25	19	9
Clay	262	11	2	1
Coahoma	235	6	1	0
Copiah	675	16	30	3
Covington	450	5	3	0
Desoto	2009	20	21	5
Forrest	1043	43	95	29
Franklin	57	2	3	1
George	125	3	1	0
Greene	116	10	34	6
Grenada	625	9	51	5
Hancock	152	13	8	4
Harrison	1183	16	98	9
Hinds	3041	54	152	19
Holmes	598	41	98	20
Humphreys	174	10	18	6
Issaquena	11	1	0	0
Itawamba	147	8	34	7
Jackson	804	19	48	6
Jasper	282	6	1	0
Jefferson	137	3	2	0
Jefferson Davis	125	4	3	1
Jones	1231	49	157	34
Kemper	184	14	38	9
Lafayette	509	4	42	1
Lamar	584	7	3	2
Lauderdale	972	81	202	52
Lawrence	216	2	0	0
Leake	635	20	3	0
Lee	630	22	66	15
Leflore	539	56	173	41
Lincoln	538	35	115	27
Lowndes	549	17	25	8
Madison	1508	39	141	19
Marion	349	12	16	2
Marshall	297	3	6	0
Monroe	460	36	108	30
Montgomery	186	3	0	0
Neshoba	1045	77	106	30
Newton	377	10	7	1
Noxubee	279	9	15	3
Oktibbeha	623	28	132	18
Panola	461	6	3	1
Pearl River	308	32	50	12
Perry	91	4	0	0
Pike	511	20	42	10
Pontotoc	363	6	3	1
Prentiss	127	4	24	3
Quitman	101	1	0	0
Rankin	1137	19	59	5
Scott	831	15	14	2
Sharkey	48	0	1	0
Simpson	453	3	3	0
Smith	256	12	52	8
Stone	77	2	2	1
Sunflower	505	8	1	0
Tallahatchie	197	4	3	1
Tate	395	13	27	8
Tippah	147	11	0	0
Tishomingo	109	1	2	0
Tunica	126	3	12	2
Union	256	12	20	8
Walthall	274	8	15	2
Warren	600	21	39	9
Washington	753	13	24	4
Wayne	568	19	41	4
Webster	135	11	52	10
Wilkinson	101	9	5	2
Winston	302	11	38	8
Yalobusha	208	9	35	7
Yazoo	566	7	20	2
Total	36,680	1,250	3,000	604

The numbers in this table are provisional. County case numbers and deaths may change as investigation finds new or additional information about residence.

–Mississippi State Department of Health