Jackson Free Press

Mississippi saw 145 new cases of COVID-19 as of yesterday, bringing the new statewide total to 3,087, only seven days after the 2,000th detection on April 7. The Mississippi State Department of Health reports 13 Mississippians have died from COVID-19, for 111 total deaths so far.

It is unclear if this count includes the recently deceased inmate at the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman who posthumously tested positive for COVID-19, confirming fears that the disease has already made its way into the state’s corrections system.

MSDH released an update to the private testing totals, revealing a total of 37,733 completed tests across Mississippi as of April 13. State Epidemiologist Dr. Paul Byers confirmed to the Jackson Free Press at a press conference last week that this total does not include samples still in the process of being tested. At a press briefing Monday, State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs told the JFP that the State is investigating racial demographic data, which he acknowledged had been missing from around a third of the private sample collections—with accurate data on testing penetration coming soon.

“We are rapidly fixing the issue with the lack of racial data. That's been something that's been seen nationwide, unfortunately,” Dobbs said. “But we are going to get it cleaned up really quickly. We have teams who are making sure that, if they can't find an electronic format, we're doing direct outreach to make sure we get all that data filled out.”

State health leadership still says Mississippi is rapidly approaching the peak of the infection, and that the Mississippi health-care system is adequately equipped for the top of the curve. “As we look at the number of (beds, ICU beds, and ventilators) we have available, we believe now that we are much less likely to have more patients than we have of any of those three items,” Dobbs explained.

Logistics, not supply, is now the primary challenge, ensuring that the space, equipment and personnel are available “in the same location as where the patient is,” Dobbs said.

Read the JFP’s coverage of COVID-19 at jacksonfreepress.com/covid19. Get more details on preventive measures here. Read about announced closings and delays in Mississippi here. Read MEMA’s advice for a COVID-19 preparedness kit here.

Email information about closings and other vital related logistical details to [email protected].

Email state reporter Nick Judin, who is covering COVID-19 in Mississippi, at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter at @nickjudin. Seyma Bayram is covering the outbreak inside the capital city and in the criminal-justice system. Email her at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter at @seymabayram0.