For the second straight week, Lexington County joins the majority of South Carolina counties in being recommended to mask against COVID-19.

29 of the state’s 46 counties have a high COVID Community Level this week. The tool provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention uses the latest local data to give counties guidance on best practices to deal with the virus.

A high level triggers a universal recommendation from the CDC and the state Department of Health and Environmental Control that people in those counties mask in indoor public places. 

This week, 11 counties have a medium level, which triggers a recommendation to mask in public transportation and if you have symptoms, a positive test or are exposed to someone with COVID. Six counties have a low Community Level this week; last week, just one county graded as low.

32 counties in South Carolina had a high level last week.

Lexington’s level has been high for five of the last six weeks.

The county saw an uptick in two of the three metrics used to determine Community Levels.

In the seven days leading up to July 21, the rate of new cases per 100,000 people was 393.31 (up from 345.44). The percent of staffed impatient beds occupied by COVID patients was 5.4% (up from 4.5%).

The county’s case rate has gone up for five straight weeks, going from 215.16 to 243.68 to 253.39 to 329.71 to 345.44 to this week's 393.31.

The other metric used to determine the level is the number of new COVID hospital admissions per 100,000 people. For Lexington, that number was 14.7 (down from 15.9).

Five of Lexington’s neighboring counties (Newberry, Richland, Calhoun, Orangeburg and Aiken) have a high level this week; one (Saluda) has a low level.

From July 9 to 16, 15,553 new S.C. cases of COVID-19 were announced by DHEC. 1,322 came from Lexington.

In that time, Lexington County’s case rate per 100,000 people was the third highest in the state, behind Marlboro and Richland.