Lincoln County COVID-19 update: 54 more reported cases, no more deaths
Published 4:05 pm Tuesday, June 23, 2020
Lincoln County has 54 more reported confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection to bring the total to 384, though the number of deaths remains at 32, according to the latest information released by the Mississippi State Department of Health.
There have been 109 confirmed LTC facility cases — 93 on Friday and 16 additional Saturday through Sunday — and the total of 25 deaths has not changed.
MSDH had received reports of 2,257 new positive test results since Friday and 51 deaths. In long term care facilities, 82 outbreaks had been reported. This makes the state’s totals 22,898 cases (22,745 confirmed and 153 probable) and 989 deaths (972 confirmed and 17 probable).
MSDH confirmed 485 people hospitalized statewide Monday evening for COVID-19 confirmed cases. On Saturday, 516 people were hospitalized with confirmed cases. This was the highest of any day since infections were first reported in the state, and up 33 since Friday. The number of hospitalized patients has not dropped below 480 in the past week.
More than 400 have been hospitalized each day since late April, with the exception of June 6 and 7. The lowest-reporting day of the month was June 6, when hospitalizations were 358. Sunday’s numbers dropped to 483, back to where it was Friday. There were 179 people hospitalized for suspected infection.
Toward the end of last week, Gov. Tate Reeves said doctors were faced with transferring patients due to a shortage of hospital beds, though he did not specify where those shortages were located.
More than 263,800 tests have been performed statewide by all testing providers — 253,098 for active coronavirus and 10,713 for antibodies to determine if a person has had the virus previously and is now recovered.
Across the state, 17,242 persons are presumed recovered from the virus.
Some researchers report a second wave of COVID-19 could be just as bad as the first. States with older, more immune-compromised populations are especially at risk, while states with better medical infrastructures are better prepared. Minnesota is ranked “most ready” and New Mexico as “least ready,” according to a study commissioned by TheTruthAboutInsurance.com.
The study ranked Mississippi as the sixth least-prepared state for a second wave of coronavirus.
Though Mississippi has more hospital beds per capita than almost any other state across the nation, the state also has some of the highest obesity and uninsured rates.
Nearly 3 million people live in the Magnolia State, and 39.5% are obese. Persons age 65 and older make up 15.9% of the population, and 9.7% of Mississippians have asthma. Fourteen and a half percent are uninsured. There are four hospital beds and 1.9 physicians for every 1,000 people.
The best-prepared state, Minnesota, has the same percentage of older people, 8.3% with asthma, 30.1% with obesity and 5.1% uninsured. There are 2.5 hospital beds and three physicians per 1,000 people.