The current COVID-19 mortality rate is a bumpy track, as the summer surge in cases dissipates. The bump-up in weekly deaths reported Wednesday went from single-digit back up to two digits — 12 deaths for the week ending Aug. 31.

Six were in the 80-plus age bracket; the rest were over 50, except for one under 18. Underlying health conditions were reported for all but two, which were unknown.

While the death rate persists, the better news was that overall cases continued their downward trend, the fifth consecutive decline.