After experiencing a steady rise in COVID-19 deaths last week, Leflore County has started this one with a welcome lull.
When the Mississippi State Department of Health released its daily update Sunday and Monday, there were no new deaths reported for Leflore County. It was the first time in more than a week that the county had gone two straight days without a death being added to its count.
The latest death, a man in his 70s, was reported Saturday. He died Thursday at Greenwood Leflore Hospital and had underlying health problems, according to Christine Hemphill, a hospital spokeswoman.
All 15 individuals to die from COVID-19 in Leflore County have been African American.
The county has the second-highest death toll in Mississippi. The only county with more is Lauderdale, which has 19. Lauderdale County has a population that is 2½ times larger than Leflore County’s. One other Mississippi county has deaths in double digits, Pearl River with 14.
Leflore County has had 137 cases of COVID-19 since the outbreak began in March. Neighboring Carroll County has had 20 cases and one death. One of the 20 cases is for the first time in a long-term care facility.
Leflore County has three long-term facilities with active outbreaks, which the Department of Health defines as at least one confirmed case in a resident or employee. There are 679 facilities statewide with outbreaks. The Department of Health does not identify the facilities, although some facilities do publicly acknowledge it when they are experiencing an outbreak.
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 or other long-term care facilities are particularly vulnerable, and they account for a third of the state’s 229 deaths.
As of Monday morning, Greenwood Leflore Hospital was treating 12 patients in its specially created 16-bed COVID-19 unit, Hemphill said. Ten patients have tested positive for the disease, and six of these are on ventilators to help them breathe. The other two patients are suspected of having the virus, and one of them is on a ventilator.
•Contact Tim Kalich at 581-7243 or tkalich@gwcommonwealth.com.
