Jasper County Judge Mark Allen released updated numbers on Friday showing yet more active cases as well as deaths attributed to the illness.
As of Friday, Judge Allen said the county increased to 163 active cases, which is up from 150 on Wednesday, a number that dramatically jumped from 91 the day before as a slew of positive test results came in.
Also Judge Allen said the death toll in Jasper County was up to 39 as of Friday. That number was 36 at the beginning of the week and 35 the week prior.
Although widespread illness among staff members resulted in the closure of Brookeland ISD on Friday, that community is only reporting 5 currently active cases - the smallest number in the county â while the current hotspot for active cases is Jasper which has 59, followed by Buna with 41, Kirbyville with 40, Evadale with 12, and Call Junction with 6.