For the first time in the months-long COVID-19 pandemic, Warren County has reported a month with more than 1,000 new cases.

With 50 new cases Wednesday, and an additional 36 cases Thursday, Warren County has reported 1,059 new cases of the virus in January. So far this month, the county is seeing an average of more than 37 new cases per day. At that pace, January could reach 1,200 cases by month’s end.

January is also the deadliest month of the pandemic that began in March. With an additional virus-related death Thursday, Warren County has reported 26 deaths connected to the virus. The previous record had been 21 deaths in a month, reported in both August and December.

Overall, since the first case was reported on March 29, the county has tallied 3,802 cases of the virus. The county has also reported 104 virus-related deaths. The first death connected to the virus was reported on April 6.

The surge in new cases has been ongoing since just after the Thanksgiving holiday. In the 62 days following Thanksgiving, Warren County has seen an average of 33 new cases per day, significantly higher than at any other time during the pandemic.

“We have seen a lessening in the number of new cases, but the Christmas surge was vicious both in numbers and intensity,” Dr. Daniel Edney, with Medical Associates of Vicksburg, said. “We are still seeing deaths each day related to Christmas transmission. That will continue at least another week or so.”

Edney, who has long served as a member of the Gov. Tate Reeves’ COVID-19 task force, as well as provided advice to local leaders, said much of the transmission has come from those not closely following safety guidelines.

“The current daily new case level is related to the large amount of community transmission that occurred over Thanksgiving and Christmas and lack of adherence to guidelines by so many,” Edney said. “But, hopefully, with the vaccination rates going up and the number of COVID recovering patients with current antibody levels in the community, we should see a decline soon.”

On Jan. 10, the county reached a record high two-week daily average, when it reported an average of more than 51 cases over a 14-day period. The two-week average is an indicator state health officials use to determine whether a county is a virus hot spot. In Warren County’s case, it has been above the virus hot spot thresholds since Dec. 8.