State health officials announced Thursday 13 new COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in Warren County, bringing the total number of cases reported in July alone to 128. Overall, Warren County has reported 543 cases and 20 virus-related deaths since late March.

Thursday’s report showed a statewide increase of 703 new cases and 16 new deaths. Since the pandemic began in Mississippi on March 11, the state has reported 32,591 cases and 1,204 deaths.

With the 13 new cases in Warren County, the estimated number of cases that should be considered active remained at 162. Over the past week, Warren County has seen an average of 12.8 new cases per day.

The most troubling part of Thursday’s report was the number of patients hospitalized in Mississippi with COVID-19. As of Thursday, the state reported 686 patients in state hospitals, the highest mark thus far during the pandemic. The number of patients in intensive care units was 187, with 104 on ventilators. Both figures are near pandemic-level highs and have caused worry by state health officials as the increasing number of hospitalized patients has put strains on the state’s healthcare infrastructure.

Claiborne County reported four additional cases Thursday, bringing its pandemic total to 293 cases and 10 deaths. Issaquena County remained at 10 cases with one death. Sharkey County reported 42 total cases Thursday, while Yazoo County now reports 543 cases and six deaths.

Health officials in Louisiana announced Thursday the number of cases in Madison Parish had increased slightly, to 406 overall. Louisiana has had 71,994 cases and 3,247 deaths statewide since early March. More than a third of Louisiana’s cases have been in three of its biggest parishes — Orleans and Jefferson near New Orleans, and East Baton Rouge.