Desoto Co. leads Mississippi with 49 cases
Data from health agencies suggests coronavirus infection had spread more rapidly through state than neighboring Tennessee or Arkansas
Mississippi's Department of Health reported coronavirus cases are rising in Desoto County and throughout the state.
On Thursday, state officials reported 49 people in Desoto County were diagnosed with COVID-19 and 485 people throughout the state.
The number of cases reported statewide rose 28% between Wednesday and Thursday and 33% in Desoto County, a Memphis suburb and Mississippi's third-largest county.
Desoto now leads all counties in the state in residents identified with the infection.
Public health officials provided the update Thursday.
The report shows 31% of those identified with COVID-19 have been hospitalized.
Of all 485 cases reported, women accounted for 61% of the total and the infection appears among all age groups, although it is far less prevalent among those 18 and younger, the update shows.
Data from health agencies suggests the infection has spread more rapidly through Mississippi than Tennessee and Arkansas.
In Mississippi, one in every 6,158 residents have been reported with the virus, compared to one in every 7,074 in Tennessee and one in every 9,039 in Arkansas.
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves earlier this week said he would not recommend a statewide lockdown.
In Desoto County, Olive Branch and Southaven officials have issued emergency orders barring large groups and closing non-essential businesses.
Memphis moved to a shelter-athome policy for employees of non-essential businesses.
The order came after a medical adviser, Dr. Manoj Jain, estimated a looser approach could result in 8,000 COVID-19 fatalities over the next year in the area.
In other Mississippi counties within metropolitan Memphis, the number of cases on Thursday totaled: Marshall, 7; Tate, 6; Tunica, 5; Benton, 1.
South of Memphis in the Mississippi Delta, 17 total cases were reported Thursday in Coahoma County and 13 in nearby Leflore County.
Just east of metro Memphis, Tippah County has 14 cases.
South of Tippah in Lafayette County, home of the University of Memphis, 10 cases in total have been reported.
In Mississippi's largest county, Hinds, home of Jackson and the state capital, 43 cases have been reported. That is the second-largest total of any county in the state.