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Mississippi hospitals are becoming increasingly stressed as the COVID-19 delta variant surges and health care workers experience high rates of burnout, state health officials said during a livestreamed discussion Friday.
The 1,317 new COVID-19 cases reported on Friday were the highest for one day since January, according to the Mississippi State Department of Health. State Health Officer Thomas Dobbs has associated the spike in cases with the delta variant.
Dobbs said over 90% of coronavirus-related hospitalizations were in unvaccinated people, noting one Mississippi hospital told him they were so busy, they had to put two patients in a closet. Other larger hospitals are already using emergency rooms as overflow ICUs, he said.
Children are different in that they don t live in a bubble, said Henderson, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics Mississippi Chapter. They have siblings and parents that they have to interact with, so when you see a pediatric coronavirus case, you re likely to see multiple (infections).
Infections will continue to multiply
With the delta variant, infections will only continue to multiply if students, regardless of vaccination status, go to school mask-free. It is about 50% more contagious than the alpha variant, and has a 50% greater transmissibility rate than the original COVID-19 strain, according to Yale Medicine.
In the spring, if a student was infected with the alpha variant, they may have given it to one or two classmates, Oxford pediatrician Tanya Fitts said. But a student infected with the delta variant will transmit the virus to a large portion of classmates.
Delta variant spreads in MS, Oxford prepares thedmonline.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thedmonline.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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