Just one day shy of the six-month mark of the COVID-19 pandemic in Mississippi, Warren County on Thursday reached a level it has not seen since mid-April in its fight against the virus.

Thursday, the Mississippi State Department of Health announced five new cases in Warren County. With that report, the number of active cases in the county fell again, to just 20. It is the fewest active cases in the county since April 17.

Thursday’s report also forced lower the county’s two-week and one-week daily averages. With the five new cases, the county has seen an average of 4.7 new cases per day over the past 14 days.

But over the past seven days, the numbers have been even better. In the seven days ending Thursday, the county has seen just 2.7 cases reported —a level not seen since May 24.

September is shaping up to be a far better month than August in the county’s fight against the virus. In the first 10 days of August, the county saw 139 new cases. Over the first 10 days of September, the county has reported just 33 new cases.

Overall, Warren County has reported 1,347 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 46 deaths. The last virus-related death was reported on Sept. 4.

As for the state, Mississippi State Department of Health officials reported 517 new cases and 33 virus-related deaths on Thursday. Of the deaths, 13 occurred between Aug. 7 and Sept. 1 and were identified from death certificate reports.

Since the pandemic began in Mississippi in March, 88,322 cases have been confirmed, with 2,656 deaths.

Much of the recent improvement in the fight against the virus has been credited with mask mandates put in place at the local and state levels. Tuesday, both the Board of Mayor and Aldermen and the Warren County Board of Supervisors approved extending the city and county mask mandates through at least Oct. 5.

Also Tuesday, the Vicksburg Warren School District released its COVID-19 tracking information to the state. In it, the district showed no confirmed cases involving students, teachers or personnel.