Source: Mississippi State Department of Health

Mississippi had 346 COVID-19 patients in intensive care units on Wednesday, which is the state’s highest number of COVID-19 patients in the ICU since the start of the pandemic, the state health officer said in a tweet.

Five of the ICU patients are children. 

Dr. Thomas Dobbs, the state health officer, also said that on Wednesday, Mississippi had a record high number of COVID-19 patients on ventilators, 219. He added that on Wednesday, the state had its highest number of total ICU patients on record, 842, which includes both COVID-19 patients and other patients. 

“Please be safe this New Years,” Dobbs said in the tweet. “We all know what to do…”

The Mississippi State Department of Health reported 66 new cases of COVID-19 in Lauderdale County on Thursday, bringing the county’s total to 4,941 cases.

Lauderdale County reported no new deaths on Thursday; 171 deaths have been reported in the county since March.

MSDH reported 2,756 new cases and 40 new deaths in Mississippi on Thursday, bringing the state’s totals to 215,811 cases and 4,787 deaths.

On Wednesday, Mississippi reported a record number of COVID-19 cases — 3,023.

State epidemiologist Dr. Paul Byers said there was a minimal delay in reporting cases over the holidays, but “we are still seeing a lot of transmission out there.”

“It is still bad out there right now,” he said at a press briefing on Wednesday. “And we haven’t even made it through the holidays yet.”

Byers said that people still need to wear a mask, stay six feet away from others and avoid large gatherings. He added that people should stay within their nuclear family, except when they have to perform essential functions.

The state is in Phase 1a of its vaccine distribution plan, a phase in which COVID-19 vaccines are being given to health care workers and long-term care facility residents and staff. Mississippi has distributed vaccines to hospitals throughout the state, including to Rush Foundation Hospital and Anderson Regional Medical Center. The state will also allow health care workers to get vaccinated at drive-thru locations starting next week, Byers said.

As of Wednesday, 17,410 COVID-19 vaccinations had been reported to the Mississippi Immunization Information Exchange. Vaccine providers are required to report COVID-19 vaccinations to this registry within 24 hours of the vaccination.

As of Wednesday, 488 vaccinations of Lauderdale County residents had been reported to the registry.

COVID-19 case and death numbers for local counties are listed below.

Clarke County: 16 new cases; 1,202 total cases since March. No new deaths; 58 total deaths since March.

Newton County: 17 new cases; 1,615 total cases since March. No new deaths; 33 total deaths since March.

Kemper County: Three new cases; 655 total cases. No new deaths; 19 total deaths since March.

Neshoba County: 15 new cases; 3,006 total cases. One new death, which occurred between Dec. 7 and 30; 141 total deaths since March.

MSDH presumed 167,263 people had recovered from COVID-19. The department also reported that there are 236 ongoing outbreaks of COVID-19 in long-term-care facilities.

COVID-19 data for Mississippi counties

County	Total Cases	Total Deaths	Total LTC Facility Cases	Total LTC Facility Deaths
Adams	1801	58	72	15
Alcorn	2210	40	120	18
Amite	859	23	54	7
Attala	1728	51	166	32
Benton	675	21	45	10
Bolivar	3418	95	223	30
Calhoun	1175	17	25	4
Carroll	932	18	46	9
Chickasaw	1594	37	51	15
Choctaw	518	10	1	0
Claiborne	708	20	43	9
Clarke	1202	58	108	28
Clay	1329	30	20	3
Coahoma	1955	52	127	11
Copiah	2182	45	73	9
Covington	1843	67	133	39
De Soto	14714	139	107	20
Forrest	5232	101	215	44
Franklin	586	9	40	1
George	1732	35	48	7
Greene	988	25	52	6
Grenada	1962	62	146	31
Hancock	2033	55	70	14
Harrison	10680	157	470	57
Hinds	13966	265	690	101
Holmes	1592	65	103	20
Humphreys	726	22	33	8
Issaquena	152	4	0	0
Itawamba	2279	51	123	22
Jackson	8771	158	215	26
Jasper	1435	25	35	1
Jefferson	466	14	22	3
Jefferson Davis	762	24	8	1
Jones	5236	97	206	39
Kemper	655	19	44	9
Lafayette	4250	83	185	49
Lamar	4106	60	47	13
Lauderdale	4941	171	378	88
Lawrence	918	16	27	2
Leake	2049	51	81	9
Lee	7668	118	206	40
Leflore	2649	101	221	48
Lincoln	2551	79	169	36
Lowndes	4394	92	198	41
Madison	7194	136	330	60
Marion	1757	63	155	22
Marshall	2915	63	62	15
Monroe	3007	89	179	53
Montgomery	984	31	54	9
Neshoba	3006	141	191	55
Newton	1615	33	83	11
Noxubee	932	20	31	4
Oktibbeha	3409	74	205	34
Panola	3202	70	103	13
Pearl River	2581	81	155	31
Perry	878	30	20	7
Pike	2210	71	108	32
Pontotoc	3171	42	21	3
Prentiss	2101	42	99	15
Quitman	600	7	0	0
Rankin	8793	165	329	48
Scott	2131	40	37	4
Sharkey	387	17	43	8
Simpson	2042	63	152	19
Smith	1021	20	55	8
Stone	1173	18	78	9
Sunflower	2408	61	90	15
Tallahatchie	1228	32	43	7
Tate	2391	56	80	19
Tippah	1993	40	80	5
Tishomingo	1583	53	101	27
Tunica	758	19	15	2
Union	2809	42	105	16
Walthall	1002	34	67	13
Warren	2743	78	164	37
Washington	4259	116	187	39
Wayne	1671	27	68	11
Webster	760	18	57	11
Wilkinson	532	23	24	5
Winston	1834	50	105	28
Yalobusha	995	32	81	22
Yazoo	2114	50	138	17
Total	215,811	4,787	9,341	1,709