Mississippi Health System Buckles Under 'Astounding' Rise in COVID-19 Cases

An "astounding" rise in COVID-19 cases in Mississippi is putting intense strain on the state's health care system.

Compared with the first half of July, the number of infections more than doubled in the past two weeks and deaths rose by 51 percent. In Mississippi, deaths owing to COVID-19 now average between three and four a day, health officials said at a news conference held Wednesday, The New York Timesreported. More than 300 COVID-19 patients are currently in intensive care or on a ventilator compared with a few dozen at the start of July. In hospitals where intensive care units are full, some patients are being treated in emergency rooms, according to the officials.

Mirroring moves made earlier in the pandemic, hospitals in Mississippi have been ordered to delay some elective surgeries and to transfer patients to other facilities with available beds when necessary, The Times reported.

The recent surge in daily infections is "astounding," said Paul Byers, M.D., the state epidemiologist, The Times reported. Byers singled out 72 long-term-care facilities where unvaccinated workers have been largely spreading the virus but also blamed settings such as summer schools and cheerleading camps. He added that it is likely that cases will continue to rise in the coming weeks. When asked where outbreaks are most severe, Byers said: "We are covered up with outbreaks."