New COVID-19 coronavirus cases continued to drop across Mississippi Thursday, state health department officials reported, but remain at levels not seen until the omicron wave spike in early January.

Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) officials reported Thursday that 6,535 new coronavirus cases were found in the 24-hour period that ended at 3 p.m. Wednesday.

Since January 1, 168,396 cases have been officially logged, though the number is likely much higher due to at-home tests typically not being reported to the state health department.

To put the rapid spread in perspective,  statistically, 1 in every 18 Mississippians has tested positive for the virus since the start of January.

The new cases reported Thursday bring the total number of cases found in the state since the pandemic began to 712,133.

Although health experts say the omicron variant tends to require less hospital care than previous variants, the massive number of new cases in this wave is still causing hospitalizations to grow rapidly.

Through Monday, 1,447 patients were hospitalized with confirmed COVID-19, the state health department reported. At the peak during last summer’s delta variant wave hospitalizations hit a high mark of 1,667 on August 19, 2021.

MSDH reported 32 new deaths on Thursday, bringing the total death toll to 10,806.

Through Thursday, 50 percent of the total Mississippi population has been fully vaccinated. The number of fully vaccinated Mississippians remains below the U.S. average of 63 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 Thursday to 5,466.

The 14-day, daily average of new cases dipped 6,200 with Thursday’s update.

Cumulative Cases and Deaths by County

Totals of all reported COVID-19 cases, including those in long-term care (LTC) facilities.

The numbers in this table are provisional. County case and deaths totals may change as investigation finds new or additional information.

County	Total Cases	Total Deaths	Total LTC Facility Cases	Total LTC Facility Deaths
Adams	6156	126	90	18
Alcorn	8811	124	131	20
Amite	2838	59	57	9
Attala	4250	91	194	36
Benton	2033	43	47	10
Bolivar	8327	158	248	33
Calhoun	4183	52	44	7
Carroll	2371	43	52	11
Chickasaw	4926	81	62	15
Choctaw	1809	28	13	0
Claiborne	2014	42	46	9
Clarke	3800	96	132	32
Clay	4595	80	41	5
Coahoma	5907	116	138	14
Copiah	6232	97	109	15
Covington	6534	98	164	39
De Soto	45511	479	131	27
Forrest	19357	268	358	61
Franklin	1736	34	47	5
George	6554	81	75	9
Greene	2794	50	72	6
Grenada	5026	113	155	32
Hancock	10533	142	142	22
Harrison	46214	585	637	83
Hinds	48840	690	861	140
Holmes	4070	96	120	21
Humphreys	1830	39	35	9
Issaquena	237	7	0	0
Itawamba	6662	116	135	24
Jackson	33567	399	385	41
Jasper	4362	66	46	2
Jefferson	1349	35	41	7
Jefferson Davis	2607	43	16	1
Jones	19251	256	303	46
Kemper	2010	43	50	10
Lafayette	13412	159	202	57
Lamar	15452	143	66	12
Lauderdale	16985	326	499	108
Lawrence	3176	45	28	2
Leake	5557	94	103	17
Lee	24344	258	225	43
Leflore	6941	146	263	56
Lincoln	7157	142	210	41
Lowndes	15559	208	306	69
Madison	21842	290	416	72
Marion	6334	125	171	24
Marshall	8844	154	69	17
Monroe	9676	188	192	55
Montgomery	2730	63	82	13
Neshoba	9389	211	232	61
Newton	5182	87	89	15
Noxubee	2516	46	42	6
Oktibbeha	9593	144	272	40
Panola	9487	143	103	15
Pearl River	13524	248	244	42
Perry	2736	57	41	9
Pike	8112	161	178	44
Pontotoc	8994	119	88	13
Prentiss	7255	89	101	15
Quitman	1466	28	0	0
Rankin	32530	423	503	69
Scott	6133	103	119	19
Sharkey	861	21	45	8
Simpson	6167	124	171	20
Smith	3607	58	79	8
Stone	4857	67	100	14
Sunflower	5458	111	133	21
Tallahatchie	2924	54	50	7
Tate	6427	127	80	19
Tippah	6301	91	120	14
Tishomingo	5405	99	103	28
Tunica	2353	41	19	3
Union	8522	106	133	23
Walthall	3121	70	69	14
Warren	9315	184	175	38
Washington	9320	171	219	41
Wayne	5136	73	83	13
Webster	2785	51	66	14
Wilkinson	1706	41	25	6
Winston	4515	96	135	39
Yalobusha	3654	50	84	22
Yazoo	7477	95	152	20
Total	712,133	10,806	12,062	2,125