On the afternoon of March 24, Mississippi, the 35th-largest state in terms of population, ranked 12th among the states with the most novel coronavirus cases per 100,000 people. Per capita rates will change daily as the numbers fluctuate almost constantly. This is due to how fast cases spread across the country in the coming weeks. On Tuesday, Mississippi had 11 cases per 100,000 people. With 30 confirmed cases per 100,000 residents, Louisiana (population 4.6mn) is third. New York City, home to nearly 20 million residents, is the leader of the nation, with 132 confirmed cases per 100,000 people and 26,665 overall. Gov. Tate Reeves declined to follow other states’ lead in issuing a state shelter-in-place, but said that he would sign an executive ordering instructing Mississippians not to visit nursing and hospital visits or gathers exceeding 10. “Reserve your tests for the most vulnerable of us. Reeves stated that employers, regardless of whether they are government or private, should allow employees to return home if they are not essential and can work remotely. “Understand that this pandemic is not over. We may be in the early stages of this fight. This virus is still new. Although we don’t know the future, we know this virus is serious. We have stressed that since day one and will continue to do so as more data becomes available. Mississippi has now confirmed 300 cases. There are 320 confirmed cases in all of Mississippi’s 24 counties, one death, and there have been 320 cases in Mississippi. The state has already tested 1,872 individuals, not counting those who were tested by private labs. Louisiana is one of the states that reports both commercial and state lab testing to keep track of how many states are running across the state. Mississippi has a cluster of cases in the most populous areas. However, this is consistent with the expected spread patterns and global COVID trends. Hinds County currently has 31 cases, DeSoto County 29 and Harrison County 24. Some areas in rural Mississippi have higher rates than those in the more populous areas. Recently, the state health department began publishing demographic and hospitalization data along with case counts. As of March 24, 27% of COVID cases had required hospitalization. Nearly 20% of state cases were among people aged 40 or older. However, 38 percent of cases were among the elderly. The state has not yet released data on age-based hospitalizations. Although Mississippi’s total cases have quadrupled in the past week, when it reported 80 cases on Friday, the pace of new cases is slowing. Tuesday’s 71 cases represent only 20% of all cases. This is a decrease from the peak new-case rate last Wednesday, when over half of daily cases were new. Over the weekend, testing in the state increased by 141 percent. The number of cases is expected to increase this week as the University of Mississippi Medical Center partnered with C Spire internet service provider to launch a statewide screening application that will screen symptomatic patients. It will also connect those who UMMC providers deem appropriate to testing at a drive-thru testing booth at the Mississippi State Fairgrounds in Jackson. For those without a smartphone, the COVID screening line can be contacted at 601-496-7200. The fairgrounds opened for testing on Tuesday. It is open seven days a week, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. and can accommodate 128 tests daily. Recently, the health department released a list listing testing locations in the state. It also announced that it is currently launching additional testing tents throughout the state. However, the details have not been released. [Click here for Mississippi Today’s COVID-19 Resources Portal.] Editor’s Note: The case data was compiled from individual state health departments on Tuesday, March 24, at 4 p.m. Eastern Time. It was matched with the most recent information from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to ensure accuracy. Based on 2019 Census estimates, state populations were calculated.