Mississippi’s 14-day average of new COVID-19 coronavirus cases moved into record territory Tuesday as December’s death toll ratcheted much higher with the latest statistics from the state.

The state reported on Tuesday 79 new deaths attributed to the virus. It was the highest number of deaths reported in a single day. A total of 4,490 Mississippians have died from the virus, the state reported.

The average number of deaths reported per day during December is currently averaging 31, for a total of 683 so far during the month, making December second only to August when the state reported 813 deaths. Note: Some deaths reported on a given day or in a given month may have occurred earlier, but were delayed in reporting.

The Mississippi State Department of Health reported 2,191 new cases on Tuesday. The latest numbers bring the total cases since the pandemic began in March to 197,691.

Approximately 44,421 new cases have been confirmed in December, which is now the month with the highest number of new cases since the pandemic began in March. The high case load is an ominous sign for health care workers and hospital administrators already struggling with capacity problems.

Here’s a monthly new case breakdown:

Month	New cases
June	11,746
July	31,496
August	24,203
September	15,240
October	21,970
November	33,111
December (month to date)	44,421

Of the total cases, the state believes approximately 154,669 have recovered and while many people who are infected with the virus may only have moderate or even no visible symptoms, others can get gravely ill and can die as a result.

Through Sunday’s statistics, the state reported 1,257 confirmed COVID-19 patients were hospitalized with another 50 suspected, but not confirmed by test yet COVID patients also hospitalized. The state reported that across the state only 86 ICU beds were available, meaning that 90 percent of all ICU beds were filled. Of the ICU beds in use, more than 40 percent were filled with confirmed COVID-19 patients.

“And this is before holiday celebrations,” Mississippi State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs wrote on social media Tuesday morning. “Please be safe over the next 2 weeks. Keep it small (and outdoors).”

If December’s pace of new cases and deaths continues evenly through the remainder of the month, the state may see as many as 60,000 cases or more, nearly double any prior month, and as many as 900 deaths.

The 7-day, daily average of new cases dropped slightly to 2,056 with Tuesday’s update.

The 14-day, daily average of new cases rose sharply to 2,126 on Tuesday.