Lincoln County now has reported 1,467 cases of COVID-19 — an increase of 34 since Wednesday. The death toll remains at 59 for the county.

There have been 162 cases in long-term care facilities with 35 LTC deaths.

The Mississippi State Department of Health reported 749 new coronavirus cases Friday and 18 new deaths statewide. Five of the deaths occurred Oct. 14-28 in Harrison, Itawamba, Jackson, Simpson and Tippah counties. The other 13 occurred between July 31 and Oct. 25 in 13 counties, identified from death certificate reports.

Since reporting 1,000 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, MSDH identified 970 cases Thursday before the drop back into the 700s Friday.

The state has recorded 119,336 total virus cases and 3,328 deaths to date.

MSDH presumes 101,385 persons have recovered.

School cases

The MSDH Aggregate School Report totals for Oct. 19-23, released Friday, reflect reports from 871 schools in 78 counties. Statewide, 272 teachers/staff and 464 students tested positive for the coronavirus in that time period. More than 8,125 students and 840 teachers/staff were quarantined during that time.

Since the school year began, 1,728 teachers/staff and 3,484 students have tested positive.

In Lincoln County, one to five students at each of the following schools tested positive during the week of Oct. 19-23 — Bogue Chitto, Brookhaven High and Enterprise. One to five teachers/staff members tested positive at each of the following — Brookhaven High, Brookhaven Technical Center, Mamie Martin Elementary and West Lincoln. Since school began, at least 35 students have tested positive and at least 19 teachers/staff have had positive test results.

The full report can be found at https://msdh.ms.gov/msdhsite/_static/resources/11292.pdf.

Hospitalizations

MSDH reported 609 people hospitalized statewide with confirmed cases of the coronavirus, higher than any other day in the previous weeks.

Nearly 30% of these patients are in intensive care units, 173 people. More than 40%, 72, of the ICU patients are on ventilators. Another 103 people have been hospitalized for suspected COVID infections.

Testing

Testing is available in Brookhaven at King’s Daughters Medical Center. The COVID screening site is located behind the Emergency Room and will be open to the public 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday and 10 a.m-2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Traffic for this site should enter from Brookman Drive behind the hospital. This screening is for individuals 12 years of age and up. Call 601-835-9455 to make an appointment.

Testing is also available for those without insurance, on Mondays from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. outside the Lincoln County Health Department, 1212 Northpark Lane NE, Brookhaven. The Mississippi National Guard is in charge of performing these tests. Interested persons should call 601-496-7200 before arriving.

To find more testing facilities in the state, visit HealthyMS.com and click on “Getting Tested” in the blue menu on the left.