For a third-straight week, masking is recommended in indoor public places in Lexington County by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the state Department of Health and Environmental Control, and this week we have more company.

Lexington is one of eight counties that the CDC deems to have a high COVID Community Level, joined by neighbors Newberry and Richland along with Darlington, Florence, Marlboro, Dillon and Marion. Last week, six counties in the state posted a high level.

Horry, which had a high level last week, is down to a medium. Darlington, Marion and Newberry had a medium level last week.

Like Lexington, Richland has maintained a high level each of the past three weeks.

Masking in all public places is recommended for counties with a high Community Level.

While the COVID case rate per 100,000 people is up this week in Lexington County, the other two metrics that go into determining a county’s Community Level are both down.

In the seven days leading up to June 30, Lexington had a case rate per 100,000 people of 253.39 (up from 243.68). The number of new COVID hospital admissions per 100,000 people in the county was 11 (down from 12.9), just above the high Community Level threshold of 10 or more.

Lexington remained below the high Community Level threshold in the other metric — with $1.8% of staffed impatient hospital beds in use by patients with COVID, down from 2% the week before.

If a county posts a case rate greater than 200 per 100,000 people and hits above the high threshold in either of the other two metrics, it grades as high, triggering the universal recommendation for masking in indoor public places.

The counties with a high and medium Community Level remain mostly congregated in the eastern part of the state, with Newberry being the western most state with a high level and Cherokee being the western most with a medium level.

In the Midlands, Fairfield and Kershaw have medium levels. Orangeburg, which borders Lexington, also has a medium level.