COVID-19 Cases Rise in Oxford While Related Deaths Dip

Lafayette County is on a rollercoaster ride with COVID-19, with its number of new cases and deaths in December repeatedly rising and falling.

According to the Mississippi State Department of Health, Oxford and Lafayette County gained 253 new cases in the last seven days, up from the previous week that saw 159 new cases. There are an estimated 261 active cases in the county currently.

That number is up from the week prior when there were 220 active cases. While it’s an increase from last week’s numbers, it’s a decrease from the first week of December when there were 303 active cases in Oxford.

Since Dec. 17, eight people from Lafayette County have died from COVID-19, down from 10 deaths the week before.

As of Wednesday, there were 45 people in the hospital with COVID-19. Of the hospital’s 181 staffed beds, there were 36 available. There were eight patients in the ICU with COVID-19. Of the 24 total ICU beds, 18 were available on Monday.

According to the Lafayette County School District, there were 11 cases of COVID-19 – three staff members and eight students – between Dec. 14-18.

The Oxford School District reported 19 new cases between Dec. 14-20, with 11 teachers and eight students testing positive.

Due to the Christmas break that started on Dec. 21, neither school has updated information for the last week.

The University of Mississippi reported 15 new cases in the last week, despite students having left campus for the winter holidays. There are an estimated eight active cases – four students and four staff/faculty members.

As of Tuesday, there have been a total of 4,175 cases in Lafayette County since March and 78 deaths.

Mississippi’s total of COVID-19 cases for the year now stands at 210,032, with 4,719 deaths.