County hits triple digits

Jay County has surpassed the century mark.

With one new positive test Saturday, Jay County recorded its 100th case of COVID-19. That number was up to 102 as of Monday’s report from Indiana State Department of Health.

It took 79 days for the county to go from the 50-case mark to 100, but there has been a significant shift recently. After recording 23 cases from May 29 through July 27, Jay County has had 27 in the last 20 days.

“We’ve seen an uptick recently in the number of positive cases as well as our positivity rate,” said Heath Butz, environmentalist and administrator with Jay County Health Department.

Jay County’s seven-day average positivity rate was 7% as of Monday’s report but had climbed near 10% in the previous week. That was the highest number since mid-June.

The county has a positivity rate of 5.9% over the course of the coronavirus pandemic.

Jay County has fared relatively well, with its total positivity rate 3 percentage points below the statewide average. About 0.4% of the county’s more than 20,000 residents have tested positive for COVID-19, well below the state’s mark of about 1.2%. It has also not yet had a death attributed to COVID-19.

As of Friday, 72 of the Jay County residents who have tested positive for COVID-19 had met the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention requirements for being released from isolation.

“I think we’re still doing pretty well,” said Butz. “But I think you can look at some of our neighbors, including Adams County, and see that that can change very quickly.

“All it takes is a couple of events that are a big spread.”

Though Adams County was one of the first in the state to record a case, it had fewer cases of COVID-19 than Jay County for months. The same was true of Wells County.

When Jay County hit its 50th case May 28, Adams was at 13 and Wells was at 28. Now the totals are as follows: Jay – 100; Adams – 139; Wells – 183.

Over that same period, Mercer County has gone from 203 cases to 694 and had the highest rate of cases per capita in Ohio.

“Mercer County is our most concerning county in the state right now,” Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said last week.

Other area case totals are as follows: Delaware County – 806; Darke County – 476; Randolph County – 138; and Blackford County – 67. Indiana has recorded a total of 81,006 positive cases and 2,926 deaths.

There has been no specific event that led to Jay County’s uptick in the last three weeks, Butz said. He added that the increase reiterates the need to take proper precautions.

“It’s just an indicator we need to do a better job of social distancing, hand hygiene, wearing masks and stuff like that to help keep our numbers down,” he said. “Especially as we get ready to open up school, anything extra we can do to keep the community safe and the students safe … and keep our numbers under control would be beneficial.

“What people need to understand is wearing the masks, while it offers a little protection for you it also offers protection for those around you, including your loved ones — your friends, your family.”

He offered that advice as the county prepares for the Tri-State Gas Engine and Tractor Association Show from Aug. 26 through 29 and the delayed start of school Sept. 9.

Butz said the health department has been working with Tri-State organizers on guidelines for the event. Those include the need for social distancing, wearing masks and making hand sanitizer readily available.

He added that the health department has been in communication with Jay School Corporation in order to get pertinent information out to students and parents. (See related story.) The health department and school corporation have walked through several scenarios in preparation for the school year.

“We’ve been working with the schools directly so that we are going to work more seamlessly when we do have a positive case and we need to quarantine people,” Butz said.

Coronavirus is spread through respiratory droplets from sneezes and coughs, close personal contact and touching something with the virus on it and then touching the mouth, nose or eyes before washing hands. CDC guidelines encourage frequent hand washing, avoiding touching the face with unwashed hands, avoiding close contact with those who are sick, covering coughs and sneezes with a facial tissue and wearing a mask in public.

For most, COVID-19 symptoms are mild to moderate, including fever, cough and shortness of breath that clear up in two to three weeks. Other symptoms may include chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat and loss of taste or smell. Older adults and those with pre-existing health problems are susceptible to more severe illnesses.