While September showed a downward trend in the number of new COVID-19 cases in Warren County, October has seen slightly higher numbers thus far.

Through the first eight days of the month, Warren County has reported 34 new cases, compared to 27 cases reported in the first eight days of September — a 26 percent increase.

Thursday, the Mississippi State Department of Health announced nine new cases in Warren County and one new virus-related death. The death reported Thursday occurred some time between Aug. 19 and Sept. 29 and was identified from death certificate reports.

The latest death brings the total number of people killed as a result of the virus in Warren County to 53.

As for the new cases, the nine reported is the highest one-day total reported in the last two weeks and pushed the 7-day average to 4.1 new cases. That is the highest daily average since Sept. 29.

Overall, state health officials announced 578 new cases in the state and 23 deaths. Since the first case was reported in Mississippi on March 11, officials have confirmed 102,819 cases and 3,074 deaths.