Mississippi’s rapidly growing number of new cases of the COVD-19 coronavirus continued to pile up over the weekend, state officials reported Monday.

Mississippi State Department of Health officials reported Monday that 4,991 new coronavirus cases were found since the agency’s last update on Friday.

The additional cases reported Monday brings the total number of cases found in the state since the pandemic began to 348,496.

“Delta surge accelerating quickly – please be safe and protect your family,” Mississippi State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs wrote on social medial Monday morning.

The Mississippi State Department of Health reported 13 new deaths on Monday, bringing the total death toll to 7,556.

Mississippi health leaders have said that a combination of a low overall vaccination rate among Mississippians along with a rapidly spreading Delta variant is causing the recent surge in cases.

Through Friday morning, approximately 37% of all Mississippians have received at least one shot of the COVID-19 vaccines available.

And approximately 32% of Mississippi’s population are fully vaccinated, the state reported.

For more detailed county-by-county vaccination results visit: https://msdh.ms.gov/msdhsite/_static/resources/12130.pdf

The 7-day, daily average of new cases jumped to 1,673 on Monday, the highest level since January 27.

The 14-day, daily average of new cases rose to 1,383 with Monday’s update. It was the highest level since February 4.

Cumulative Cases and Deaths by County