COVID-19 Continues to Linger in Oxford

By Alyssa Schnugg

News editor

alyssa.schnugg@hottytoddy.com

Lafayette County remains at a “Medium Level” of COVID-19 transmission, according to the Center for Disease Control; however, there’s been a slight increase of reported positive cases.

From Aug. 10-17, there were 168 new cases in Lafayette County, up by 40 new cases from the previous week that has 128 new cases.

Data is updated weekly on Thursday evenings.

According to the Center for Disease Control, Lafayette County’s Community Level went from “Low” in May, to “Moderate” in June, up to “High” in July and has been holding at “Medium” for about four weeks.

About 33 Mississippi counties are currently designated as having “High” community levels of COVID-19, which is also an increase from the start of August.

Two in Lafayette County died due to COVID in the last two weeks, bringing the total number of deaths to 182.

CDC reports three Lafayette County residents were admitted to the hospital in the last seven days.

On Thursday, the MSDH reported 1,639 new cases across the state in the past 24 hours with one new death.

Residents in counties with medium COVID-19 activity should wear masks if they have any symptoms of COVID-19 or were recently exposed to someone with the virus. Those who are at high risk for more serious illness from COVID-19, should wear masks on public transportation and in crowded public areas, suggests the Mississippi State Department of Health.

If you have symptoms of COVID-19, get tested. Vaccinations are widely available for both adults and children as young as six months old.

No local mask mandates are currently in place in Oxford.

Last week, the University of Mississippi stopped reporting new cases on its website.

Oxford and Lafayette County school districts have not released COVID-19 case numbers since school began on Aug. 1.

Monkeypox in Mississippi

The MSDH is also reporting 18 cases of monkeypox in Mississippi. Nationally, there are more than 14,000 cases as of Friday.

The U.S. declared monkeypox a public health emergency earlier this month.

Monkeypox is transmitted mostly during close physical contact.

People with monkeypox get a rash that may be located on or near the genitals or could be on other areas like the hands, feet, chest, face, or mouth.

Monkeypox symptoms usually start within three weeks of exposure to the virus. If someone has flu-like symptoms, they will usually develop a rash 1-4 days later. Monkeypox can be spread from the time symptoms start until the rash has healed, all scabs have fallen off, and a fresh layer of skin has formed. The illness typically lasts 2-4 weeks. It’s rarely fatal.