New Numbers Released On Positive COVID-19 Cases In Mississippi

The Mississippi State Department of Health has releasing new numbers as COVID-19 cases continue to rise across the state, state health officials are breaking down the most common ways the virus is being transmitted.

As of Tuesday, July 28, 1,505 positive cases of COVID-19 were reported and 20 deaths, and just this past weekend, the state exceeded 50,000 cases on Saturday, July 25.

State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs shared during Governor Tate Reeves update on COVID-19 within the state of Mississippi on July 29, that many of the reported cases of the coronavirus are contracted via family members.

“A large proportion of our cases, and I think its around 40%, are from family members, like a first-degree family member. So, that’s pretty bold that that’s a lot of it, because once it gets into a family, it spreads within a family, so that secondary tier is really huge,” said Dr. Thomas Dobbs, State Health Officer.

Dr. Dobbs also stated that they have noticed a trend of how the virus has spread amongst family members by interviewing COVID-19 patients.

“It’s almost always 4-5 days before symptom onset and there’s clearly something that happened, it was a birthday party or a funeral, but a lot of times it was so and so’s cousin was in from out of town and we all got together to welcome them home and a bunch of people got sick. It’s not subtle, it’s pretty obvious so a combination of different data point, but in Mississippi that seems to be our weak point,” said Dr. Dobbs.

Along with COVID-19 case numbers reported, the Mississippi State Department of Health’s website also provides updated information on how to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 amongst individuals, businesses, and workplaces.