The number of counties in South Carolina with a high COVID-19 level is down this week, but Lexington County is still among those recommended to mask in indoor public spaces.

Lexington is one of 15 counties with a high COVID Community Level. The levels are calculated weekly using updated local data by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to advise counties on best practices to combat the virus.

20 counties have a medium level this week, while 11 have a low level.

Last week, 25 counties in the state had a high level.

A high level triggers a universal recommendation from the CDC and the state Department of Health and Environmental Control to mask in public indoors.

The case rate in Lexington County is down slightly this week, going from 363.18 new cases per 100,000 people to 331.5 in the seven days leading up to Sept. 8.

The county also went down in the other two metrics that go into calculating the Community Levels, posting 12.1 new COVID hospital admissions per 100,000 people (down from 14.8) and a 3.9% occupancy rate of inpatient hospital beds by COVID patients (down from 4.7%).

Among the county’s neighbors, Saluda (previously high) graded as low this week, while Aiken, Orangeburg and Calhoun remained medium and Newberry and Richland remained high.