JACKSON — Mississippi reported another record-high day of new confirmed coronavirus cases on Friday.
The state Department of Health said 2,480 new people have become infected with the virus and 37 more people have died as of Thursday evening. Twenty-three of those deaths occurred between Nov. 26 and Dec. 3 and were recorded later using death certificates.
Mississippi, with a population of about 3 million, has reported more than 161,516 coronavirus cases and at least 3,916 deaths from COVID-19. The numbers reported Friday were the highest the state has seen in a single day. The previous high was Wednesday, with 2,457 new cases.
“The only thing more worrisome than the number is the trajectory,” the Mississippi state health officer, Dr. Thomas Dobbs, tweeted late Thursday.
Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba signed an executive order to close City Hall and many other city offices through Dec. 18 to try to slow the spread of the virus.
The bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi, the Rt. Rev. Brian Seage, ordered all Episcopal churches in the state to temporarily stop in-person services.
