Although still near historic highs, Mississippi’s number of new COVID-19 coronavirus  cases drifted down again on Friday.

Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) officials reported Friday that 3,352 new coronavirus cases were found in the last 24 hours.

The additional cases reported Friday brings the total number of cases found in the state since the pandemic began to 446,863, meaning that 15 percent of all Mississippians have tested positive for the virus since the pandemic began.

MSDH reported 33 new deaths on Friday, bringing the total death toll to 8,540.

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 Thursday, only 39 percent of the total population has been fully vaccinated, nearly the worst in the nation and well below the U.S. average of 52 percent.

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 dropped to 2,708 on Friday.

The 14-day, daily average of new cases dropped to 2,882 with Friday’s update.

Cumulative Cases and Deaths by County