Floyd County did not see its first confirmed case of infection by the COVID-19 Coronavirus until the April 12 daily report from the Virginia Department of Health (VDH).

It would take 17 days before a second case would appear in the county.

The third case, however, arrived on May 1, just two days after the second one, then four by May 13, six by May 29, eight by June 19, then nine three days later along with one death, and 10 just four days after that.

Last weekend, the numbers jumped by four, bringing the county’s cases to 14. The four, we learned Monday in a story by Ashley Spinks, managing editor of The Floyd Press, came from tests by a National Guard unit at Skyline Nursing Home.

Worldwide, we have more than nine million cases with 2.38 million in the United States while Virginia is closing in on 60,000 infections and more than 1,600 deaths.

Yet we see men and women without masks in Food Lion, Circle K and CVS. They violate the social distancing order of six feet apart and, far too often, get in other people’s faces when asked why they aren’t wearing a mask.

“I don’t need no f—ing mask,” said one, a young woman who looked to be in her late teens, at CVS over the weekend. Her male companion, also mask less, laughed.

Virginia’s coronavirus cases appear to be increasing after a previous drop and lull. The VDH daily report on Monday showed cases up by 521 infections. It had been under 500 for several days. Hospitalizations continue to rise as the total number approaches 6,000.

The wearing of masks is not a recommendation. It’s an order from Gov. Ralph Northam. It exists not only for the safety of the person wearing it but for others he or she may encounter.

A piece of advice:

Stop bitching’ and wear the damn thing. Wear gloves, wash your hands often and let’s turn this pattern of increases around.

It really is a matter of life and death.