Pearl River County reaches 77 COVID-19 deaths
Published 7:00 am Tuesday, December 22, 2020
- In this file photo, cars are checked in for free COVID-19 testing at the Pearl River County health department building. Free COVID-19 testing is still being conducted there. File photo by Cathy Cook.
Pearl River County reported two new COVID-19 deaths on Sunday, bringing the county’s total to 77 COIVD-19 deaths.
The county also reported 30 COVID-19 cases on Sunday and 22 on Monday, bringing the total to 2,260 since the beginning of the pandemic.
From Dec. 6 to Dec. 12, there were 235 cases via suspected community transmission in the county and 30 cases via outbreak. From Nov. 29 to Dec. 5, there were 162 cases in the county via suspected community transmission and 26 cases via outbreak.
At 12.2 percent, the test positivity rate for Pearl River County is classified as red by the Mississippi State Department of Health. The county’s test positivity rate was classified as yellow beginning the week of Nov. 14 until the week of Dec. 5, when it was at 6.8 percent. It was last green the week of Nov. 7, when it was at 2.7 percent.
Across Mississippi there have been 195,500 COVID-19 cases reported as of Dec. 20, with 4,411 deaths. According to MSDH, 154,669 of those cases are presumed recovered. MSDH reports that 52.5 percent of the state’s COVID-19 cases have occurred in white people, 41.5 percent have occurred in Black people, 3.5 percent of cases occurred in Hispanic people and 1.5 percent are classified as ‘other.’
COVID-19 cases in the state broken down by age are: 4,078 cases and one death in the 0-4 age group; 20,294 cases and one death in 5-17 year-olds; 24,533 cases and 12 deaths among 18-24 year-olds; 43,427 cases and 83 deaths in the 25-39 age range; 29,171 cases and 177 deaths among 40-49 year-olds; 40,212 cases and 779 deaths in the 50-64 age group; 32,076 cases and 3,355 deaths among people 65 and older.
Pearl River County is one of the 61 counties in the state under a mask mandate until Jan. 15. Indoor gatherings are limited to 10 people and outdoor gatherings are limited to 50 people when people from different households are closer than six feet apart. Gathering size limits do not apply to religious entities or students in classes.
There is free drive-thru COVID-19 testing at the Pearl River County Health Department building in Carriere on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Appointments for the free testing can be made at covidschedule.umc.edu or by calling 601-496-7200.
