It is often said that numbers do not tell the true story. But when it comes to the months-long COVID-19 pandemic, numbers do not lie.

In the week ending Sunday, Warren County recorded its highest daily average of new cases since the week ending Sept. 4 at 5.9 cases per day.

Even with the no new cases reported Monday, October has seen a faster pace of new cases compared to September. So far, through Monday, the county has seen 52 new cases, an average of 4.3 cases per day. By comparison, the first 12 days of September saw just 38 cases, a rate of 3.1 cases per day.

During the month of September, after a hot summer of rising cases, Warren County seemed to have not only flattened the curve but forced its numbers to plummet. Daily averages fell to less than two per day some weeks and the county had moved from the brink of being declared a hot spot in late July and August to a county that was seeing among the lost transmission rates in the state.

That has now changed as Warren County has already experienced a 3.6 percent increase in overall numbers since October began. And this recent bump in numbers coincides with overall state numbers that have also risen in recent days and weeks.

One impact of this bump has been a slight increase in hospitalizations and additional stress on the healthcare industry.

Through Oct. 9, the Mississippi State Department of Health reported 600 people in the state were hospitalized with either confirmed or suspected to have COVID-19. It also reported of those 600, 136 were in intensive care units with 59 on ventilators.

While these numbers are far lower than at the peak in July and August, the numbers are higher than when the month started. The state health department’s report shows steady increases in hospitalizations since Oct. 3.

Overall, since the first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Warren County on March 29, a total of 1,470 cases, a daily average of 7.4 cases per day. Also, the county has reported a total of 53 deaths connected to the virus, a rate of one death every 3.7 days.