Lafayette County reports three new COVID-19 cases and one death; Mississippi tops 3,000 cases

Published 11:29 am Tuesday, April 14, 2020

Mississippi experienced its worst day for COVID-19 on Monday, reporting the most coronavirus-related deaths in a single day with 13.

The Mississippi State Department of Health also reported 145 total deaths as of 6 p.m. on Monday. Mississippi’s totals topped 3,000 cases and 100 deaths just over a month after reporting the state’s first case on March 11.

Lafayette County reported three new cases and one death, bringing its total to 33 cases and two deaths. During a recessed meeting with the Lafayette County Board of Supervisors on Monday, emergency management director Steve Quarles stated the county had another death that had not been reported by MSDH. According to Quarles, the death occurred sometime last week. It was not reported by MSDH until Tuesday.

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A spokesperson for Baptist Memorial Hospital-North Mississippi told the EAGLE they cannot release any information due to HIPAA laws and that all information/deaths are reported by the county in which the resident resides in and not by hospital.

Attempts to contact MSDH were unsuccessful as of 11 a.m. on Tuesday.

District 3 supervisor David Rikard asked Quarles when the public could expect to find out a number of people who have recovered from the coronavirus in Lafayette County. Quarles said he and others are trying to get MSDH to begin reporting those numbers.

“That’s one of the concerning things; without those recovery numbers, our numbers go higher and higher. We won’t ever see when they plateau,” Quarles said. “It’s going to be essential for us as counties and the state to have those recovery numbers to know when our increase is actually leveling off. So, we’ve asked the Mississippi Department of Health for that information.”

Hinds County has reported the most cases with 263, and DeSoto County has reported 188 cases. Nearby Panola County has reported 26 cases and two deaths. Pontotoc County has reported 15 cases and two deaths, and Yalobusha has reported 14 cases.

Lauderdale County has reported the most deaths in the state with 11. Pearl River County has reported eight deaths, while Tippah and LeFlore Counties have reported six deaths.