One more person has died in Lincoln County as a result of COVID-19.

The latest death was confirmed from a death certificate filed sometime in the period of July 10-18. Thirteen other deaths across the state were reported in the time period of July 13-20.

Mississippi has now recorded 12,603 deaths tied to the COVID-19 pandemic. Of these, 8,292 have been confirmed by positive PCR tests. The remaining 4,300-plus had a designation of COVID-19 as a cause of death on their death certificates, but no confirmatory testing was performed.

There have been 866,040 documented cases of the virus in Mississippi as of July 21, though this number does not include any tests performed at home that were not reported to The Mississippi State Department of Health.

The community transmission level for Lincoln County is currently high. MSDH recommends wearing a mask indoors in public; staying up-to-date with vaccines; and getting tested if you have symptoms. Additional precautions may be needed for people at high risk for severe illness.

Lincoln County has had 8,975 cases and 159 deaths over the course of the pandemic.

Other counties around Lincoln that have a high community transmission level include Copiah, Pike, Amite and Walthall. Lawrence, Franklin and Jefferson counties all have medium community transmission levels. Levels were calculated July 21 using most-recent seven-day totals.

Approximately 60 people per day have been admitted to Mississippi hospitals in July for COVID-related reasons, according to the CDC. Numbers in Brookhaven have been much lower.

“We are not experiencing a lot of hospitalizations at this time, but we are seeing a fair amount of people that have contracted COVID,” said David Culpepper, marketing director of King’s Daughters Medical Center in Brookhaven, after the recent data was announced. “We all should stay vigilant about protecting ourselves.”