The Mississippi Department of Health is releasing weekly data on coronavirus infections in schools.

This data is variable because it’s self-reported and the number of schools that report varies from week to week. As of Jan. 15, data provided by MSDH shows a total of at least 8,296 teachers, students and staff have tested positive for COVID-19 since the start of school.

The number of total teachers, students, and staff to get sick hit its lowest point the week of Sept. 7-11 with 368 school-related infections. Since then, the total number infections in school has risen, though the number of schools that report in a given week varies. 

Numbers appear to have peaked the week of Nov. 30 with 1,752 students, teachers and staff contracting COVID-19. There is no data from the last two weeks of December because schools were on holiday break.

Mississippi Today will provide this data as well as context about the rates per capita and change from week to week on this page.

For general COVID-19 Mississippi trends with daily case, death and hospitalization updates, as well as testing data charts and other helpful interactive maps and graphs, click here.

| MORE: COVID-19 daily case data and charts 

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Kayleigh Skinner

Kayleigh Skinner

Kayleigh Skinner joined the Mississippi Today team in January 2017 as an education and legislative reporter and advanced to a senior staff member in her three years with the company. Skinner most recently served as deputy managing editor before assuming the role of managing editor. Kayleigh has a bachelor’s in journalism from the School of Journalism and New Media from the University of Mississippi. Before joining Mississippi Today, Kayleigh worked at The Hechinger Report, Chalkbeat Tennessee, and The Commercial Appeal, and has appeared on MSNBC, NPR, and BBC Newsday Radio to discuss her reporting.

Kelsey Davis Betz

Kelsey Davis Betz

Kelsey Davis Betz is from Mobile, Ala., and currently lives in Cleveland, where she works as one of our Mississippi Delta-based reporters covering education and intersecting issues. Kelsey has a dual degree in journalism and Spanish from Auburn University and worked as an editorial intern at Texas Monthly and a courts reporter at the Montgomery Advertiser. She is a 2018 Educating Children in Mississippi Fellow at the Hechinger Report and is a co-founder of the Mississippi Delta Public Newsroom.