Forrest County's COVID cases up 66.4%; Mississippi cases surge 36.1%
New coronavirus cases leaped in Mississippi in the week ending Sunday, rising 36.1% as 7,730 cases were reported. The previous week had 5,680 new cases of the virus that causes COVID-19.
Mississippi ranked seventh among the states where coronavirus was spreading the fastest on a per-person basis, a USA TODAY Network analysis of Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the latest week coronavirus cases in the United States decreased 1.2% from the week before, with 721,538 cases reported.
With 0.89% of the country's population, Mississippi had 1.07% of the country's cases in the last week. Across the country, 24 states had more cases in the latest week than they did in the week before.
Forrest County reported 218 cases and zero deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 131 cases and zero deaths. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 22,737 cases and 316 deaths.
Lamar County reported 211 cases and zero deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 112 cases and zero deaths. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 18,023 cases and 160 deaths.
Within Mississippi, the worst weekly outbreaks on a per-person basis were in Sharkey County with 625 cases per 100,000 per week; Issaquena County with 603; and Winston County with 440. The Centers for Disease Control says high levels of community transmission begin at 100 cases per 100,000 per week.
Adding the most new cases overall were Hinds County, with 686 cases; DeSoto County, with 564 cases; and Harrison County, with 523. Weekly case counts rose in 75 counties from the previous week. The worst increases from the prior week's pace were in Hinds, Rankin and Harrison counties.
>> See how your community has fared with recent coronavirus cases
Across Mississippi, cases fell in six counties, with the best declines in Lauderdale County, with 76 cases from 83 a week earlier; in Kemper County, with 21 cases from 26; and in Tunica County, with 24 cases from 29.
In Mississippi, 15 people were reported dead of COVID-19 in the week ending Sunday. In the week before that, 12 people were reported dead.
A total of 828,389 people in Mississippi have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began, and 12,507 people have died from the disease, Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the United States 86,967,639 people have tested positive and 1,015,938 people have died.
>> Track coronavirus cases across the United States
Mississippi's COVID-19 hospital admissions rising
USA TODAY analyzed federal hospital data as of Sunday, June 26. Likely COVID patients admitted in the state:
Last week: 445
The week before that: 378
Four weeks ago: 209
Likely COVID patients admitted in the nation:
Last week: 63,626
The week before that: 57,605
Four weeks ago: 54,872
Hospitals in 34 states reported more COVID-19 patients than a week earlier, while hospitals in 25 states had more COVID-19 patients in intensive-care beds. Hospitals in 39 states admitted more COVID-19 patients in the latest week than a week prior, the USA TODAY analysis of U.S. Health and Human Services data shows.
The USA TODAY Network is publishing localized versions of this story on its news sites across the country, generated with data from Johns Hopkins University and the Centers for Disease Control. If you have questions about the data or the story, contact Mike Stucka at mstucka@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Hattiesburg American: Forrest County reported 218 additional COVID-19 cases this week
