Leflore County has experienced its 16th death from COVID-19.
A man in his 60s died Tuesday at Greenwood Leflore Hospital from the respiratory disease, according to Christine Hemphill, a hospital spokeswoman. He had underlying health conditions, she said.
The patient was the first death to be reported in Leflore County since Saturday by the Mississippi State Department of Health.
All 16 people to die in the county have been African American, and at least 15 of them had other health problems. The man is the sixth among the dead who had been living in a nursing home or other long-term care facility.
For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough, that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death. Nursing homes residents are particularly vulnerable, and they account for more than a third of the state’s 250 deaths.
Three long-term care facilities in Leflore County have at least one active case of COVID-19. Crystal Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center has been the most plagued by the virus. As of Tuesday, it said that out of 102 residents tested, 24 had been positive for COVID-19. Results were still pending at the time on 68 residents.
As of Wednesday morning, Greenwood Leflore Hospital was treating 14 patients in its 16-bed COVID-19 unit, Hemphill said. Eight of the patients have the illness, and four of them are on ventilators to help them breathe. The other six patients are suspected of having the virus, but none of them is on a ventilator.
Leflore County has had 145 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the outbreak began in mid-March. Its death toll is the third highest in the state, behind Lauderdale County’s 19 and Pearl River County’s 18.
Carroll County has had 25 cases and one death.
Statewide, there have been 6,569 cases of COVID-19. Wednesday’s Health Department report included 227 new cases and 11 deaths.
COVID-19 cases and deaths in Leflore County as of April 28, 2020
COVID-19 cases and deaths in Mississippi as of April 28, 2020
