Like Most of MS, Oxford Sees Sharp Increase of COVID-19 Cases

The average number of daily cases of COVID-19 in Lafayette County in a seven-day period has jumped from a low of 1.43 cases a day to an average of 15.57 new cases a day in the last week.

Oxford Emergency Management Coordinator Jimmy Allgood presented updated COVID-19 information to the Oxford Board of Aldermen Tuesday.

The Board took no action and did not vote to implement any new mandates or regulations due to the surge of cases.

Allgood said the county gained 27 new cases Monday and 56 new cases over the weekend with one new death.

The number of people who received at least the first vaccination rose from 44 percent to 47 percent and fully vaccinated citizens rose from 42 percent to 43 percent in the last two weeks.

He said clinics are required to report vaccinations daily to the Mississippi State Department of Health and will continue to check daily to see if the number of vaccinations continues to rise.

Baptist Memorial Hospital-North Mississippi reported 23 patients in the hospital with COVID-19 and eight patients with the virus were in the ICU.

Mayor Robyn Tannehill said she spoke with Bill Henning, the CEO and president of BMH-NM earlier in the day.

“He said 95 percent of all Covid patients, in-patient and who are seen in the ER are not vaccinated,” Tannehill said. “I’m not sure there is a better case to get vaccinated that can be made.”

She said Henning told her that one child under the age of 18 was admitted due to COVID-19 but that others have been seen in the emergency room and then discharged to go home.

“We have the weapons in place to protect them – masks and vaccinations,” she said.

Allgood said the Delta variant that is dominating the COVID-19 cases is four times more contagious than previous versions of the virus.

“That is why the CDC and the Mississippi State Department of Health are recommending that all K-12 students and staff wear masks while in school,” he said. “Those under 12 can’t be protected by vaccinations.”