With COVID-19 levels continuing to spike in South Carolina ahead of the Christmas holiday, Lexington County is once again recommended to mask against the virus.

The county’s COVID Community Level, a tool provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that uses the latest local data to provide weekly guidance on best practices for combating the virus, is high again for the first time since Sept. 15.

A high community level brings with it a recommendation from the CDC and the state Department of Health and Environmental Control to mask in all indoor public places.

Lexington’s case rate for the seven days leading up to Dec. 22 was up to 250.04 per 100,000 people, continuing four straight weeks in which the rate has increased. After dropping to 74.98 the week of Nov. 17, the rate in Lexington County went from 88.37 to 202.18 to 202.51 and now 250.04.

After edging close for the past two weeks to the dividing line in one of the two metrics that determines whether counties with more than 200 cases per 100,000 people get a medium or high level, Lexington posted 10.4 new COVID hospital admissions per 100,000 people, pushing past the plus-or-minus threshold of 10 for a high level.

In the previous two weeks, though the county’s case rate was above 200, the number of COVID hospital admissions, the hospital admissions number remained below the threshold at nine and 7.7.

The county’s numbers in the other metric that can trigger a high level remain comparatively low, as the percentage of inpatient hospital beds in use by COVID patients went from 2.7% to 3.4% and then maintained at 3.4% this week.

Lexington joins five other counties (Pickens, Greenville, Spartanburg, Newberry and Fairfield) with a high level; there were two last week. 13 counties have a medium level, up from nine last week.

Newberry is the only one of Lexington County’s neighbor's with a high level. Richland and Saluda have a medium level, and the three other neighboring counties have a low level.

The uptick in COVID cases comes as the state and county are dealing with what DHEC has reported is the worst flu season in a decade.

Between Dec. 11 and Dec. 17, the most recent timeframe for which the department issued a report, there were 146 influenza-associated hospitalizations at 47 state hospitals, with a cumulative hospitalization rate of 44.3 per 100,000. In the current season, the department reports 2,253 influenza-associated hospitalizations across the state.

In the Dec. 11-17 frame, DHEC reported eight flu-related deaths, one of which occurred during the previous week.

In the last seven days, DHEC reports 28 COVID-related deaths statewide.

DHEC recommends vaccinating against both COVID and the flu and staying up to date on COVID booster shots.

“Flu shots and COVID-19 vaccinations are available to anyone 6 months and older,” the department said in a release last week. “Both take about two weeks to reach maximum effectiveness.”