It has taken January just 12 days to become Warren County’s second-worst month of the COVID-19 pandemic.

With the 27 new cases reported Tuesday by the Mississippi State Department of Health, Warren County has now reported 536 cases during the month of January, surpassing July’s total of 521. Up until Tuesday, July had been the second-worst month of the pandemic, with December (956) being the worst when it came to confirmed cases.

At this pace, January will pass December as the worst month as early as Jan. 22. If the trend of more than 44 new cases per day continues, Warren County will reach nearly 1,400 cases by the end of the month.

Tuesday’s report also confirmed another virus-related death in Warren County, pushing the total number of people killed by the virus in January to 13. Over the last eight days, the county has reported at least one death in seven of those days. At this pace, January could surpass August and December as the deadliest month of the pandemic. The county reached 21 confirmed deaths in both August and in December.

Overall, a total of 91 Warren County residents have died as a result of the virus. The first death in Warren County connected to the COVID-19 virus was reported on April 6.

Monday marked 10 months since the first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Mississippi on March 11. The first case of the virus in Warren County was reported on March 29.