Mississippi COVID-19 map posted July 31, 2020.

State health officials reported Mississippi’s highest daily increase in COVID-19 deaths Friday, 52, for a total of 1,663 deaths, as the state’s epidemiologist compared the fight against the coronavirus to “turning the Titanic.”

The agency reported 1,168 new cases statewide, for a total of 58,747. 

“That’s still a lot of cases,” said State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs in a conversation with the Mississippi State Medical Association shared via Facebook video Friday afternoon. “It’s kind of depressing when that’s a good number, to have over 1,100 cases.”

MSDH reported 35 new cases of COVID-19 in Lauderdale County Friday, for a total of 1,316 and 88 total deaths.

As of Friday’s update, 989 Mississippi patients were being hospitalized with COVID-19 and 240 more were being hospitalized with suspected infection.

MSDH reported 297 cases and 25 deaths in Clarke County, 223 cases and 15 deaths in Kemper County, 1,186 cases and 87 deaths in Neshoba County and 514 cases and 11 deaths in Newton County.

There were 201 active outbreaks of COVID-19 in long-term care facilities, the health department said.

“The long-term care outbreaks are completely out of control right now,” said State Epidemiologist Dr. Paul Byers, who joined Dobbs with the Mississippi State Medical Association.

He said the infections were the direct result of transmission within the community and were affecting the ability to staff some facilities.

Records released Friday afternoon show cumulative totals for ongoing outbreaks at four nursing homes in Lauderdale County, two in Neshoba County and one in Clarke County.

Diversicare of Meridian reported one case among residents and two cases among staff, North Pointe Health and Rehabilitation reported one case among staff, James T. Champion Nursing Facility reported two cases among staff and Reginald P. White Nursing Facility reported one case among staff.

In Neshoba County, Hilltop Manor Health and Rehabilitation reported 11 deaths among residents, 44 cases among residents and 11 cases among staff.

Neshoba County Nursing Home reported two cases among staff.

Lakeside Health and Rehabilitation Center in Clarke County reported one case among staff.

One inmate in the Lauderdale County Detention Facility has tested positive for COVID-19, according to Chief Deputy Ward Calhoun.

He said the inmate was tested at a prison and moved to the jail before the results were received.

One detention officer and two sheriff’s deputies have also tested positive out of the 10 detention officers and five deputies who were tested, Calhoun said.

After the state reported a record 1,775 new cases of COVID-19 Thursday, Gov. Tate Reeves extended social distancing measures under his Safe Return order until Aug. 17 and added eight counties to a list ordered to follow tighter restrictions. They include Carroll, Coahoma, Jones, Lee, Leflore, Lowndes, Noxubee and Pontotoc counties.

Cumulative Cases and Deaths by County

Totals of all reported COVID-19 cases for 2020, including those in long-term care (LTC) facilities.

The numbers in this table are provisional. County case numbers and deaths may change as investigation finds new or additional information. The data provided below is the most current available.

County	Total Cases	Total Deaths	Total LTC Facility Cases	Total LTC Facility Deaths
Adams	565	23	45	12
Alcorn	335	3	1	1
Amite	193	4	13	2
Attala	486	23	89	19
Benton	118	0	1	0
Bolivar	917	32	47	9
Calhoun	366	8	23	4
Carroll	240	11	45	9
Chickasaw	420	19	35	11
Choctaw	124	4	0	0
Claiborne	398	12	43	9
Clarke	297	25	19	9
Clay	363	14	2	1
Coahoma	632	10	4	2
Copiah	897	23	30	3
Covington	575	11	4	1
De Soto	3113	26	39	6
Forrest	1564	50	98	30
Franklin	111	3	3	1
George	525	5	1	0
Greene	223	11	35	6
Grenada	796	20	71	11
Hancock	323	14	8	4
Harrison	2048	31	124	14
Hinds	5091	102	231	45
Holmes	825	46	97	20
Humphreys	262	11	19	6
Issaquena	20	1	0	0
Itawamba	297	10	34	7
Jackson	1837	34	68	7
Jasper	368	8	1	0
Jefferson	188	6	4	1
Jefferson Davis	191	5	3	1
Jones	1705	57	168	35
Kemper	223	15	38	9
Lafayette	837	7	66	3
Lamar	1080	12	3	2
Lauderdale	1316	88	204	56
Lawrence	300	5	14	0
Leake	755	25	5	0
Lee	1162	29	66	15
Leflore	814	59	184	42
Lincoln	730	38	115	27
Lowndes	941	30	64	16
Madison	2250	50	169	23
Marion	581	17	15	2
Marshall	536	8	12	1
Monroe	675	50	126	41
Montgomery	276	3	0	0
Neshoba	1186	87	107	35
Newton	514	11	8	1
Noxubee	411	10	16	3
Oktibbeha	1039	34	153	22
Panola	877	11	5	1
Pearl River	471	36	53	14
Perry	209	7	0	0
Pike	808	30	67	14
Pontotoc	699	7	4	1
Prentiss	318	6	24	3
Quitman	211	1	0	0
Rankin	2091	28	86	9
Scott	947	17	15	3
Sharkey	139	1	6	1
Simpson	696	24	14	10
Smith	367	12	54	8
Stone	144	3	2	1
Sunflower	893	21	11	1
Tallahatchie	399	10	7	2
Tate	621	21	31	11
Tippah	285	12	0	0
Tishomingo	299	3	2	0
Tunica	228	5	12	2
Union	503	13	20	8
Walthall	425	18	57	9
Warren	946	25	80	11
Washington	1419	32	38	9
Wayne	729	21	56	10
Webster	181	12	52	11
Wilkinson	178	12	8	2
Winston	560	14	40	10
Yalobusha	308	10	35	7
Yazoo	757	11	21	2
Total	58,747	1,663	3,570	744

–Mississippi State Department of Health