When planning cookouts, fireworks displays or other get-togethers for this holiday weekend, individuals should remember that viruses and other illnesses don’t take holidays. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Mississippi State Department of Health recommend people continue to follow safe guidelines as they celebrate Independence Day.

Mississippi State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs said Tuesday many people are not taking the health threat seriously.

“It seems like we went from a shutdown mentality to it’s an all-open mentality,” Dobbs says. “Especially with the social gatherings, what we’ve seen time and time again are violations. We’ve seen a lot of transmission events and block parties and sort of social events that are really distressing for us.”

The number of confirmed cases of coronavirus COVID-19 in Lincoln County rose from 434 Tuesday to 437 Thursday, according to the latest data from MSDH. No additional coronavirus-related deaths have been reported for the county in that time, and the number of local cases and deaths in long term care facilities remains at 111 cases and 26 deaths.

Thursday, MSDH reported 1,703 new confirmed cases of the virus statewide since Tuesday, 18 new deaths and 101 outbreaks in LTC facilities across the state. The cumulative total of confirmed cases is now 28,573, and 197 probable cases.

The cumulative total of confirmed COVID-19-related deaths is 1,074, and 18 deaths likely tied to the virus.

On Monday, 602 people were hospitalized statewide with confirmed cases of coronavirus and 261 with suspected infections. There were 167 patients in intensive care units, with 94 on ventilators.

Nearly 310,900 tests have been performed statewide by all testing providers — 298,842 for active coronavirus and 12,055 for antibodies to determine if a person has had the virus previously and is now recovered.

Across the state, 19,388 persons are presumed recovered from the virus.

COVID-19 is a new respiratory virus that causes flu-like illness ranging from mild to severe, with symptoms of fever, coughing, fatigue and difficulty breathing. Like the flu, COVID-19 is thought to spread person-to-person by close contact (within 6 feet) and by coughing or sneezing. Other possible routes of transmission may include touching surfaces contaminated by the virus.