CANTON -- St. Lawrence County Public Health Department reports 82 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in St. Lawrence County as of Thursday, April 9.

Of those, 28 have completed mandatory isolation, and four are hospitalized. On Wednesday, Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center reported a COVID-19 patient there died of complications of the respiratory disease.

St. Lawrence County Public Health has been mapping the cases by town. On April 1, their map showed four cases in Ogdensburg. The map released for April 9 shows 11, an increase of nearly threefold.

In Oswegatchie, the public health map shows no cases in Oswegatchie. The April 9 map shows seven.

Public health officials remind people that it is imperative to stay home, unless going out for essential reasons like food shopping, medical care or employment at an essential business.

"The number of cases continues to rise in St. Lawrence County. It is imperative that all county residents follow the recommendations to practice social distancing, wear masks when in public or when out around others, and stay home unless going out for essential needs. This is a challenging time—the goal of these recommendations is to keep everyone safe and healthy," Community Health Educator Brigette Conklin said.

The state Health Department says there is evidence the most COVID-19 patients are asymptomatic, meaning they do not feel sick, but are still able to spread the virus to others.

More details about that are here.