Positive COVID-19 coronavirus cases continue to climb across Mississippi, as the state’s health department has recorded an average of 2,304 cases per day over the previous three days.

Lincoln County’s positive COVID-19 test results have risen by nearly two dozen over the weekend to 4,300 cases. The county’s death toll remains at 116.

The Mississippi State Department of Health recorded 6,912 new cases for Aug. 6-8, bringing the state’s pandemic totals to 365,061. Twenty-eight new deaths were reported as well — 13 in a dozen counties July 29-Aug. 6; and 15 in 12 counties Jan. 29-Aug. 2, identified from death certificate reports. The state has not recorded 7,649 deaths from COVID-19 causes.

Hinds County remains the county with the highest number of reported cases at 25,501 and deaths at 458. Hinds is also the state’s most populous county, with 238,797 residents. Positive tests occurred in 11% of the county’s residents. The more than 450 related fatalities are 0.2% of the population.

Conversely, the state’s least populous county remains the area with the lowest number of recorded incidents — Issaquena County has had 178 cases and six deaths. The cases represent 13% of the county’s 1,361 residents; deaths are 0.4% of residents.

The state presumes 320,771 infected persons have recovered from the coronavirus, as of Aug. 2.

As of 10:30 a.m. Monday, King’s Daughters Medical Center in Brookhaven reported 19 COVID-positive patients hospitalized, 16 of whom were unvaccinated. Eight of the nine COVID patients in the intensive care unit are on ventilators. KDMC administered 23 monoclonal antibody infusions Sunday and 203 over the previous month.

KDMC’s numbers represent the previous day’s volume.