Lexington County’s COVID-19 case rate continues to drop.

For the second-straight week, the county’s Community Level from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is low, as it is in all but one county in South Carolina (Pickens has a medium level).

And as it has for the past four Fridays, when Community Levels are announced, the case rate that went into calculating the county’s level dropped significantly.

This week, Lexington reported 91.05 new cases per 100,000 people during the seven days leaving up to Oct. 6, down from 120.5 the week before, 180.75 two weeks prior, 264.1 three weeks prior and 331.5 four weeks prior.

The county also continued to drop in the other two metrics that go into calculating Community Levels.

Lexington reported 6.1 new COVID hospital admissions per 100,000 people (down from 7.4), and 2.4% of the county’s inpatient hospital beds were in use by COVID patients (down from 3.6%).

All of Lexington’s neighboring counties — Newbery, Richland, Calhoun, Orangerburg, Aiken and Saluda — also have low levels for a second straight week.

Low Community Levels come with a recommendation from the CDC and the state Department of Health and Environmental Control to mask on public transportation, but otherwise, masking isn’t recommended unless you have symptoms, test positive or are exposed to someone with COVID.