There’s an uptick in COVID-19 cases in Mississippi, what you need to know

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - You may not see all the signs for testing and clinics designated to testing for COVID-19 like you once did but, as one doctor put it, it never went away. Right now, it’s spreading through the state again.

Dr. Kristi Trimm is the Medical Director of TrustCare and says they’ve noticed a familiar trend.

“Even if you have mild sinus symptoms, don’t write that off,” explained Trimm. “That can certainly be COVID. In our TrustCare urgent cares, we are definitely seeing a huge uptick and COVID. Within the community, I think back-to-school attendance is helping to spread things just a bit.”

The same can be said for Dr. Laura Miller who works for Hattiesburg Clinic in Jeff Davis and Lawrence Counties.

“We have seen cases in both places tick up over the last three to four weeks,” described Miller. “We’ve had several that we were kind of seen in little clusters where somebody had gone to church or to a shower, or to a concert or a party or something like that, and several people came back sick. And then, you know, several, just sick from casual exposures.”

Statewide, the Mississippi Department of Health confirms the increase in cases. MSDH says the state continues to see a mix of Omicron variants. Nationally, the CDC is watching a new subvariant called EG.5 or “Eris”. But MSDH says it’s too soon to tell whether that’s the cause for this most recent uptick. Baptist Memorial Health Care’s Medical Director of Infectious Disease Dr. Stephen Threlkeld says this about where things stand.

“Clearly, this is just the next in the long line of sort of mini surges, at least, this is a new variant that’s taking over, it hasn’t completely taken over in the U.S. it’s 17 plus percent of the isolates,” noted Threlkeld. “In terms of how this virus is behaving, it is different and able to escape some of our old immune system work. But it’s not dramatically different. Thankfully, in its severity, we’re not seeing just much, much more severe cases.”

The Department of Health reports that after a decline in hospitalizations in June, they are back on the rise.

The Department of Health recommends you stay up to date on your COVID vaccines and say that means making sure you have at least one dose of the bivalent booster.

If you do get COVID-19 or happen to learn of exposure, here are some important links that will answer some of your questions.

Isolation and Precautions for People with COVID-19 | CDC

What to Do If You Were Exposed to COVID-19 | CDC

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