The rapidly escalating COVID-19 outbreak that has almost quadrupled Iron County’s number of positives in two week’s time — and seen at least six new deaths in the past nine days — primarily stems from several “social events” in September that didn’t observe recommended virus precautions, a local health official said.

Those events included weddings and family gatherings, said Daren Deyaert, health officer for the Dickinson-Iron District Health Department.

“People are just not taking the precautionary measures they should have,” Deyaert said, adding, “people still don’t believe it’s true.”

He cited in particular wearing face masks or shields. “There’s a lot of people who are just refusing to do it,” Deyaert said.

The long Labor Day holiday weekend likely was a major period that allowed the virus to spread, he said.

While he would not provide much additional information late last week on what then were four new deaths in Iron County, Deyaert did say they came among “the most vulnerable population” — those older or with underlying health conditions. The DIDHD reported a sixth death Friday, with the state’s COVID-19 data site Saturday raising the county’s toll to seven.

Deyaert said he declined to reveal any more information to respect the families’ wishes, citing potential “negativity” toward them.

The county’s schools have been affected as well, with cases in students and staff. At the DIDHD’s recommendation, both the West Iron County School District in Iron River and the Forest Park School District in Crystal Falls have gone to virtual instruction, suspending in-school classes until at least Oct. 12.

In Dickinson County, both Iron Mountain and Breitung Township schools have reported someone connected with the district testing positive for the virus. While some students and staff have been advised to quarantine, neither district has shut down face-to-face learning for now.

As of Friday, the DIDHD on Friday showed 225 confirmed cases and six probables for Iron County, with 34 recovered, six deaths and 191 cases still active. Dickinson County had 180 confirmed cases and three probables, with 67 recovered, two deaths and 114 cases still active.

With the recent rise both in Iron and Dickinson counties — a combined 163 new confirmed cases in the past week alone — the state is assisting the DIDHD in contact tracing, Deyaert said, noting the department has seven nurses between the two counties.

“When it gets to this point, we don’t have the resources to keep up,” he said.

At this point, the best thing the community can do to slow the spread is adhere to the recommended precautions: wear a face mask in public, wash hands frequently, use hand sanitizer, practice social distancing and avoid large gatherings, he said.

“This is something the community needs to take seriously,” Deyaert said. “If people don’t do their part, this virus will not go away; it’ll get worse.”

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services’s COVID-19 data site Saturday showed 109 new positives in the Upper Peninsula: 39 in Delta County, 21 in Iron County, 12 in Dickinson County, 11 in Marquette County, 10 in Houghton County, eight in Menominee County, four in Baraga County and one each in Gogebic, Schoolcraft, Ontonagon, Mackinac, Chippewa counties. The state also reduced Luce County’s count by one.

In total for the Upper Peninsula, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services on Saturday had Keweenaw County with 11 confirmed cases; Luce County, 12 confirmed cases and one probable; Alger County, 21 confirmed and three probable; Baraga County, 35 confirmed cases, 10 probable and three deaths; Schoolcraft County, 33 confirmed cases and two probable; Ontonagon County, 44 confirmed and one probable; Mackinac County, 54 confirmed cases and 21 probable; Chippewa County, 54 confirmed cases and 31 probable; Gogebic County, 160 confirmed cases, 15 probable and a death; Dickinson County, 208 confirmed cases, three probable and two deaths; Iron County, 242 confirmed cases, four probable and seven deaths; Marquette County, 352 confirmed cases, 80 probable and 12 deaths; Menominee County, 394 confirmed cases, 62 probable and three deaths; Houghton County, 535 confirmed cases, 106 probable and three deaths; and Delta County, 575 confirmed cases, 80 probable and eight deaths. State numbers are updated daily but can lag behind local reports or have other discrepancies.

Using only the state figures Saturday, the Upper Peninsula has had 2,730 confirmed COVID-19 cases to date with 36 deaths. The state no longer updates its figures on Sundays.

The MDHHS reported 1,158 confirmed new COVID-19 cases in Michigan on Saturday for a total of 127,516 to date. The state added 13 new deaths Saturday — including 11 that happened earlier but recently were verified through vital records and testing, according to the MDHHS — for a total of 6,801.

For Wisconsin counties in the region, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services’ COVID-19 data site this weekend had 44 new cases in Marinette County, 33 in Vilas County, 14 in Forest County, seven in Florence County, three in Iron County. The site also listed an eighth death in Marinette County.

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services’ COVID-19 data site Sunday had Marinette County with 1,118 confirmed cases, 37 probable cases and nine deaths; Forest County, 335 confirmed, three probable and six deaths; Vilas County, 286 confirmed, eight probable and a death; Iron County, 147 confirmed, eight probable and one death; and Florence County, 110 confirmed and two deaths. As with the Michigan data, the state numbers are updated daily but can lag behind local reports or have other discrepancies.

Wisconsin recorded 2,892 new positives in the state Saturday — another new single-day record — and 1,865 on Sunday for a total of 132,663, according to the state DHS data site. The state added 19 new COVID-19 deaths Saturday and five Sunday to reach 1,377.