Coronavirus cases up by 185 in Franklin County

Franklin County’s number of coronavirus cases took another dramatic and historic leap — jumping from 1,512 to 1,697 for a total of 185 new cases for the seven-day period between Tuesday, Jan. 18 and Tuesday, Jan. 25.

While the number of cases continued to climb, the total number of deaths tied to the illness remained at 34 for the second week in a row.

The health department reported 10 coronavirus cases in FC for the calendar week ending Saturday, Dec. 25, 58 for the week ending Saturday, Jan. 1; 78 for the week ending Saturday, Jan. 8; and 115 for the week ending Saturday, Jan. 15.

Statewide, some 694,093 residents have contracted the illness since the pandemic began in March, 2020, while 10,734 have died as a result of COVID-19 since that time.

Health officials continue to urge taking precautionary measures such as washing hands regularly, wearing a mask in indoor spaces and getting vaccinated or receiving a booster shot to limit the spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant.

Dr. Thomas Dobbs, who serves as state health officer, said Mississippi’s healthcare system continues to see a dramatic rise in not only coronavirus cases, but also in terms of hospitalizations.

“If we look at what’s going on with our situation, Omicron does cause a less severe illness in general, but the overwhelming number of hospitalizations caused by the variant is putting an increased strain on and is overloading our intensive care units,” Dobbs said.

The Mississippi Department of Health reports 51 percent — some 3,929 — of Franklin County residents have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 inoculation while 46 percent (3,571) have been fully vaccinated as of this week.

Fifty-two percent (1,598,735) of Mississippians have received one dose of the coronavirus shot and 45 percent (1,425,898) are now considered to be fully vaccinated against the illness.

COVID-19 shots and boosters are still being administered between 8 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., Tuesdays and Thursday at Franklin County Memorial Hospital on Main Street in Meadville.

To schedule an appointment to receive an inoculation through FCMH, call 601-384-8264.