Since August, 18,825 students in Mississippi’s public and private K-12 schools have tested positive for COVID-19.

Of the 72 counties that reported data, a majority had between 100 and 500 students test positive. Three counties reported well over 1,000 positive students: DeSoto County, Harrison County and Jackson County. These counties are home to three of the five largest school districts in the state. DeSoto is the largest with 34,067 students enrolled during the 2020-2021 school year, according to the Mississippi Department of Education. None of these three school districts are under any mask mandate.

View the map below to see how many total students with positive COVID-19 results have been reported to the Mississippi State Department of Health since August.

How to read the map:

Green = 0-100 students | Yellow = 100-500 students | Orange = 500-1,000 students | Magenta = 1,000 or more

Mississippi Today tracks weekly data on how many students, teachers and staff tested positive for the virus, as well as how many people were in quarantine and how many outbreaks occurred in school.

READ MORE:

• Our COVID-19 coverage, data and resources

• How many Mississippi students are not required to wear masks in school?

Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.

Nigel Dent, a native of Natchez, is Mississippi Today’s audience journalist. He works as a member of the audience team to engage with readers, create audience-centered resources and distribute Mississippi Today’s news across various digital platforms, including social media and newsletter products.