With the total number of COVID-19 cases ticking up over 5,900 on Saturday, the single-day total of 193 was lower than the average of the past week. The six deaths reported are also below the recent average.
In six weeks, 227 people have died from the virus, the Mississippi State Department of Health says, with nearly 61% of the people who died categorized as black or African American by MSDH and nearly 39% categorized as white. Those numbers almost exactly reverse the demographics of the state, where black Mississippians are about 37% of the population.
Hinds County, where the capital city of Jackson is located, leads all counties in reported cases at 415, but only seven deaths, suggesting a fatality rate in the county of 1.7%. DeSoto County’s 261 cases, the populous suburb of Memphis, have been overtaken by Lauderdale County’s 295 cases and 19 deaths, a fatality rate of 6.4%. Lauderdale County has 68 cases of COVID-19 in long-term care facilities, the highest in the state.
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The Mississippi Free Press produced this story through the MFP Solutions Lab, supported by the Solutions Journalism Network. This series digs into Mississippi’s systemic issues and sheds light on responses to them in other communities. Beyond just reporting on problems, these stories interrogate their causes and inspect potential solutions.
