The University of Mississippi has seen a slight increase in total coronavirus cases since the spring semester began last week and students began returning to campus. As of now, there are 20 active confirmed cases, a 3.1% increase over the past seven days. 

As of Jan. 24, Mississippi has had at least 1,856 COVID-19 cases and 39 deaths. 

However, the overall number of cases in the state is on the decline. According to The New York Times, there has been an average of 1,736 cases per day over the past week, which is a decrease of 27% from the average two weeks earlier. 

There have been at least 264,219 cases and 5,772 deaths in Mississippi since the beginning of the pandemic, according to data from the Mississippi State Department of Health. 

The University of Mississippi currently reports 15 active student cases with one student in quarantine on campus, according to the UM COVID-19 dashboard. There are also four active staff cases and one active faculty case. 

As the COVID-19 vaccine is slowly being rolled out, MSDH officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs said that the MSDH is currently receiving 37,000 doses per week. 

As of Thursday, Jan. 21, Dobbs said that he and other state health officers had not yet been briefed on President Joe Biden’s plans to increase vaccine production. Nonetheless, Dobbs said he believes that there will not be a doubling in availability anytime soon. 

Residents 65 and older and 16-64 years old with underlying health conditions are eligible for the vaccine. According to Dobbs, around 1.3 million residents fall into this category.