COVID cases continue to decline in county

Neshoba County recorded 211 new COVID-19 cases and four new deaths in the past week, according to the Mississippi State Department of Health’s Aug. 31 report.

Neshoba County has now recorded a total of 6,000 cases of COVID-19 and 190 deaths since the pandemic began in March 2020. 

Last week, Neshoba County reported 222 new weekly cases, and three weeks ago 426. The total new weekly cases have dropped from the peak three weeks ago with 451 cases in one week when the New York Times COVID-19 database reported that Neshoba County was the No. 1 hotspot per capita in the world. 

The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians has reported 72 new positive cases of COVID-19 and two deaths in the past week as of Aug. 29, with the total number of positive cases for the Tribe standing at 2,339 with 120 deaths since the pandemic began in March 2020. Five new hospitalizations have been reported.

In Neshoba Central Elementary School 18 students tested positive for COVID-19 between Aug. 16-20 and 18 students tested positive during that period at Neshoba Central Elementary and 8 students at Neshoba Central High School and 8 at Philadelphia Elementary School, according to the Aug. 20 schools report from MSDH.

As of Monday, 24% of Neshoba County’s population is fully vaccinated, according to MSDH, and 29% of the county’s population had received one of the 15,180 total doses of COVID-19 vaccines administered in the county.

Vaccinations are being administered at Walgreens at 1002 W. Beacon Street in Philadelphia, according to MSDH.

Statewide, since the pandemic began in March 2020, 257,383 confirmed COVID-19 cases have been recorded by the MSDH along with 179,339 probable cases, totaling 436,722 cases. There have been 5,741 confirmed COVID-19 deaths, along with 2,668 probable deaths, totaling 8,409 deaths.