NEW ULM — Brown County has now reached 51 cases of COVID-19, an increase of 21 cases since the start of July.

Every day this month, Brown County Public Health has recorded new cases of the virus, but there does not appear to be one specific connection between the cases or common demographic factors.

Brown County Public Health Director Karen Moritz said the recent cases of COVID-19 are scattered through the county. A few infections appear to be connected but were limited to smaller groups.

The overall age of those testing positive in Brown County has gone down since public health began keeping track of COVID data, but in the last week, the age has been more varied, impacting people as old as 50 and younger than 10.

“We are seeing more illness since the economy reopened,” Moritz said. Public Health had hoped people would follow guidelines set by the Minnesota Health Department (MHD) but compliance has not been universal.

Moritz said there are many individuals and businesses in the county that are following guidelines, which include wearing masks and limiting the gathering of groups, but not everyone has been able to do it.

The spike in COVID cases has impacted all of Minnesota. Compared to surrounding counties, Brown County has a relatively lower increase. In July, Nicollet County has seen an increase of 63, Watonwan County, 69 and Blue Earth County, 183. Brown County is likely seeing a lower increase due to a lower population but the amount of testing done is Brown is also lower.

In Brown County, 644 COVID tests are performed per 10,000 people. Nicollet, Watonwan and Blue Earth counties are performing roughly 1,500 tests per 10,000 people. Through testing, Public Health is able to find those who are infected. Moritz said there are probably cases of COVID in Brown County that have not been identified.

People with COVID symptoms are encouraged to get tested, and everyone is asked to follow the MDH guidelines.

“Following guidelines is how we keep businesses open and how we ensure the schools open in the fall,” Moritz said.