Mississippi passes two milestones this weekend in COVID-19 tracking; over 11,000 cases and over 500 deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus.

The day after Gov. Tate Reeves announced a path for reopening tattoo parlors, Mississippi hit milestones of more than 11,000 cases of COVID-19 and passed 500 deaths, the Mississippi State Department of Health reported.

The totals as of Sunday, May 17, are 11,296 cases of COVID-19 and 521 deaths in the state.

The May 16 report (322 new cases, 17 deaths), which covered cases reported through 6 p.m. on Friday, continued a trend of larger numbers coming in later in the week. Friday's report of Thursday's numbers totaled 318 new cases; Thursday's report of Wednesday's news cases showed 393.

Over the seven days from Saturday, May 9, to Friday, May 15, the average number of cases was down to 249 per day, as the week started with lower-than-average numbers reported on Sunday through Wednesday.

The week prior, the seven-day average was 277 cases per day. This past week's 249 average is very similar to the average of daily cases between April 11 and May 1.

Seeing the average come back down could mean the state is on a "plateau" of cases that the governor had sought when he began the process of allowing businesses to reopen. However, with the past three days at the high end of reporting—and those higher numbers coming in about a week after restaurants, parks and recreational facilities opened wider—it will bear watching to see if the trend continues downward.

In the Jackson metro area, the tri-county total of cases stands at 1,591, up from 1,333 last Saturday, but only 19% up from last week, compared to the 33% spike the weekend before. Madison County has now reported the third-highest number of cases of COVID-19 behind Hinds and Lauderdale counties.

Read full coverage of COVID-19 in Mississippi at jacksonfreepress.com/covid19.