Report: 18-To-29-Year-Olds Make Up County’s Highest COVID Count

WATER VALLEY – Ten new confirmed COVID-19 cases have been reported during the last week, pushing the county’s total tally to 326 since the Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) started recording the statistics in March. A breakdown provided by MSDH on August 15 shows that largest number of cases in the county during the pandemic have been reported in 18 to 29 year olds with 55 cases.
Twenty-nine of the confirmed cases were in youth under age 18, while 43 were in ages 30 to 39. There have been 48 confirmed cases in ages 40 to 49 and 48 in ages 50 to 59. Fifty-three cases have been reported in ages 60 to 69, 28 cases in ages 70 to 79, 15 in ages 80 to 89 and seven cases reported in people 90 and older.
The breakdown by race provided by MSDH shows that 64.2 percent of the confirmed COVID cases in the county are black, 32.1 percent are white and 3.7 percent from other races.
The number of COVID-19 related deaths in the county remains unchanged at 10, with the last death reported by MSDH on July 27. All of the victims have been 60 or older with two in the 60 to 69 age group, three in the 70 to 79 age group, three in the 80 to 89 age group and two were 90 or above. Seven of the deaths were residents in a long-term care facility, while three came from the county’s general population. Of the deaths, four were white and three were black.
The number of new cases in the county have declined during the first half of August, which could be attributed to a county-wide executive order mandating masks issued by Governor Tate Reeves on July 25. A week later Reeves mandated masks statewide, specifying they must be worn at public gatherings or when shopping. The statewide order was originally scheduled to end on August 2, but last Friday he announced it would be extended through the end of the month.
One potential risk state officials are closely monitoring is the start of school, as students in many districts returned to class last week. On Friday Mississippi State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs reported there were 39 counties reporting cases of coronavirus in schools. Dobbs’ list of counties included Adams, Alcorn, Bolivar, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Coahoma, Copiah, Forrest, George, Hancock, Harrison, Jackson, Jones, Lafayette, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Leake, Lee, Leflore, Lowndes, Marion, Montgomery, Neshoba, Panola, Pearl River, Pike, Pontotoc, Quitman, Rankin, Scott, Smith, Sunflower, Tallahatchie, Union, Washington, Webster, Wilkinson, Winston and Yalobusha.
He reported there were 109 teachers and 69 students with confirmed cases and hundreds more students and teachers in quarantine.
Both Dobbs and Reeves stressed that with the majority of the cases, the person did not contract the virus at school.