County hits new case high

Jay County hit a new high Thursday.

The county’s 37 cases of COVID-19 included in Indiana State Department of Health’s daily update mark its highest single-day total. (The Nov. 9 count was initially reported at 37 cases, but the state health department later revised that number to 36.)

Jay County has recorded more than 30 cases in three of the last four days, and it has now totaled 422 in the first 18 days of November. That’s more than in the first eight months of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic combined.

There have been 196 cases of COVID-19 reported in Jay County in the last week alone, an average of 28 per day. (The average so far for November is 23.4 cases per day.)

The local trend mirrors what Indiana State Department of Health is reporting statewide. Almost one in six of Indiana’s COVID-19 infections during the pandemic have been confirmed in the past week, and the state’s daily average of coronavirus deaths has reached its highest level following a steep increase since September.

The nearly 7,500 new infections reported Thursday give the state almost 45,000 confirmed cases in one week’s time, or about 16% of all such infections since first Indiana case was confirmed about 8 1/2 months ago. The state’s seven-day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths is at 43 per day, passing the previous peak in late April, as the total is now up to 5,143. That includes 11 deaths in Jay County.

Indiana hospitals were treating 3,063 COVID-19 patients as of Wednesday — a 300% increase since late September.

Jay County has been in the high risk range on ISDH’s county metrics map for several weeks, coming in at a 2.5 out of 3 in Wednesday’s update. In the area, Wells County is considered to be at severe risk of community spread of COVID-19 with a rating of 3.

Adams and Randolph counties match Jay at 2.5, and Delaware and Blackford counties are both at moderate risk with a score of 2.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new guidance recently for how to safely celebrate the holiday season. It suggests lower-risk options such as limiting celebrations to those who live in the same household, having a virtual gathering and watching sporting events and parades from home. Details are available at bit.ly/CDCholidays.

Coronavirus is mainly spread through respiratory droplets or small particles from an infected person coughing, sneezing, talking or breathing. The CDC reports that it may be possible those particles and droplets remain suspended in the air for an unknown period of time and travel beyond 6 feet, especially indoors.

CDC guidelines encourage wearing a mask and avoiding close contact when around others and frequent hand washing and surface cleaning as ways to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The virus causes a range of symptoms, which can appear two to 14 days after exposure. Older adults and those with pre-existing health problems are susceptible to more severe illnesses.