Warren County has been identified by the Mississippi State Department of Health as a “hotspot” for COVID-19 as the Omicron variant of the virus spreads across the state.

However, Vicksburg Mayor George Flaggs Jr. said Thursday he is not yet taking action.

“Although the department of health has identified Warren County as a hotspot as it relates to COVID–19, I am concerned, but not alarmed because several factors play into those numbers such as access to higher testing rates, availability of the vaccination, and education and awareness of the virus,” Flaggs said in a statement. “Because of this, I want to keep the public informed that it is still important to practice social distancing when possible. When you cannot practice social distancing, such as inside of a building, you should wear a mask.”

Instead of instituting a mask mandate or taking other steps to mitigate the spread of the virus at the government level, Flaggs said he encourages people with COVID-19 to follow CDC protocol when it comes to testing, quarantining and social distancing. 

“I have been informed that the City of Vicksburg is no different than other cities in this state,” he said. “We must remain diligent in following CDC protocol: People with COVID–19 should isolate for 5 days and if they are asymptomatic or their symptoms are resolving (without fever for 24 hours), follow that by 5 days of wearing a mask when around others to minimize the risk of infecting people they encounter.” 

According to the CDC’s county-by-county reporting tool, Warren County reported 127 positive cases of COVID-19 on Dec. 30 and a case positivity rate of 19.39 percent. The CDC also reported that Warren County is 57.9 percent vaccinated among those age 5 and up, and that there were 10 new hospital admissions.