COVID-19 cases have not dropped over the summer as Mississippi’s health services brace for a possible increase in the fall. The State announced mental-health resources are available for anyone suffering during the pandemic. Photo courtesy MSDH

Mississippi has now officially seen more than 20,000 cases of COVID-19 with 353 new COVID-19 cases as of yesterday, along with 20 deaths. Earlier, The Mississippi State Department of Health reported 168 new cases on Sunday with two additional deaths, while Monday’s report showed 283 additional cases and four deaths. The state’s case total now stands at 20,152 with 915 fatalities.

The latest long-term-care facility report lists 80 current outbreaks—a slow yet steady decline over the past week, when MSDH concluded their testing of all LTC patients and staff.

At Gov. Tate Reeves’ Monday press briefing, State Health Officer Thomas Dobbs reported that Mississippi currently has 100 individuals on ventilators, 163 people in intensive-care units and 467 current COVID-19 hospitalization cases.

Dobbs expressed concern about the arc of COVID-19 infections in the state. “When we look at our long-term trends, we can see that we're having steady case reports and even a slight increase over week over week,” he said.

He urged caution for Missisippians considering gathering in large groups, such as summer sports teams. “A back-of-the-envelope calculation will tell you that, on average, one in 100 or maybe one in 150 people are going to be contagious with coronavirus at any given time,” he said Monday. “When you get a big group of people together like that, there's a real common likelihood that people are going to transmit the disease to somebody else.”

Looking ahead at the potential for an increased caseload in the fall, Dobbs noted that “it's likely to get worse in the future. It's inevitable, but we need to be prepared.”

Reeves’ Friday press briefing helped shed light on a different kind of battle stemming from COVID-19—the mental-health challenges caused by isolation and economic strife. Mississippi Department of Mental Health Chief of Staff Wendy Bailey expressed her concern for Mississippians.

“We know that one in five Mississippians will experience a mental illness during their lifetime. And we know that one in 25 Mississippians will experience a serious mental illness during their lifetime like bipolar schizophrenia,” Bailey said. “Knowing these numbers, mental illness is common. It's common, but it's not often talked about.”

Mississippi has a website dedicated to providing information about mental health as well as helping people locate nearby mental-health services.

In addition to overall mental health, Bailey also mentioned Mississippi’s website for help finding substance abuse treatment. “We know in any time in a pandemic or economic situation we do see increases in substance use, and we want people to know how to access that treatment,” Bailey said.

Read the JFP’s coverage of COVID-19 at jacksonfreepress.com/covid19. Get more details on preventive measures here. Email state intern Julian Mills at [email protected].