Mississippi sees new COVID surge: Cases up 220% over two weeks in Hinds County

Though COVID-19 has not been top of mind for many Mississippians in recent months, a new surge of cases is being reported with Hinds County seeing a 220% increase in cases over two weeks.

Case counts are up 223% over the past two weeks across the state, according to a New York Times database.

A daily average of 417 cases is being reported as of Tuesday. Hotspots for average daily cases include Jasper County, Choctaw County and Yalobusha County.

The state recorded 31 long-term care center outbreaks as of Tuesday.

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Hinds County ranked 16th in the state among counties with the most cases per 100,000 residents in the last seven days.

As of Sunday, Hinds County has reported a total of 52,980 cases and 791 deaths since March 2020. Rankin County has reported 36,861 cases and 489 deaths. Madison County has reported 24,316 cases and 329 deaths.

Though cases are increasing, COVID-19 deaths are on a decline — down by 44% in the state in the past two weeks.

COVID-19 hospital admissions, however, especially among people 70 and older, have increased sharply over the past week.

On May 9, an average of 1.6 people out of 100,000 who were 70 or older were newly admitted to a hospital each day. On Tuesday, that number had more than doubled to 3.9.

COVID-19 hospitalizations among all age groups have increased by 7% over the last two weeks.

Case counts are also increasing in the Pine Belt. Forrest County has seen a 230% increase in cases over the past two weeks and Lamar County has seen a 59% increase.

As of Sunday, Forrest County has reported a total of 22,142 cases and 316 deaths since March 2020. Lamar County has reported 17,464 cases and 160 deaths.

A total of 1,546,195 people are fully vaccinated in the state with 1,777,592 having received at least one dose. About 52% of the total population is vaccinated, however, 84.2% of Mississippi residents 65 and older are fully vaccinated.

Contact reporter Laurel Thrailkill at lthrailkill@gannett.com or on Twitter.