300 cases

Jay County has reached the 300-case mark.

Indiana State Department of Health’s updated numbers released at noon Thursday showed Jay County with 305 positive cases of COVID-19. The data reflects all cases reported to the state by midnight Wednesday.

Jay County’s case totals have been increasing significantly faster over the last two months than at any time since the pandemic hit the United States in March.

The county recorded its first case of COVID-19 on March 31, one of the last in the state to do so. Since then, the progression has been as follows:

From 1 to 100 cases — 139 days

From 100 to 200 cases — 47 days

From 200 to 300 cases — 20 days

In the last week (Oct. 15 through 21), 42 new cases of the disease have been confirmed. Jay County’s seven-day positivity rate for unique individuals is 8.7 percent.

Heath Butz, administrator and environmentalist for Jay County Health Department, said those increases can be attributed in part to increased testing that was not available during the early months of the pandemic. However, he added, the rate at which community spread of the disease is increasing in Jay County is problematic.

“We definitely have a lot of community spread going on,” Butz said. “It’s definitely concerning, because the more spread we have, the more likelihood it could get into people that are going to be more predisposed for a more severe form of the illness.”

He added that a challenge statewide has been contact tracing, with some not responding to calls. That means those who have been in contact with COVID-19 positive patients are not isolating as they should be.

Despite the increase, Jay County still has the second-lowest number of total cases in the area at 305. Other county case totals are as follows: Delaware – 2,932; Mercer – 1,521; Darke – 1,144; Adams – 483; Wells – 428; Randolph – 352; and Blackford – 209.

After being one of the last handful of counties in the state that had not experienced a death with its first coming Sept. 28, there has been one about every five days since then. The county’s death toll now stands at six.

Death numbers from surrounding counties are as follows: Delaware – 74; Darke – 51; Mercer – 28; Randolph – nine; Wells – eight; Adams – seven; Blackford – three.

The increase corresponds with an outbreak at Persimmon Ridge Rehabilitation Centre, where 26 residents who tested positive were transferred to Columbus Transitional Care and Rehabilitation where they are being treated by clinical specialists. Nine staff members tested positive.

While the outbreak was a contributing factor to the county’s increase, Butz said community spread is up overall.

“You take those numbers completely out of the picture, we still have a lot of community spread going on,” he said. “And we’re getting it in that community that has a higher risk of a more severe form of the illness. We’re seeing more of that in people with underlying health conditions and people 65 and older.”

Jay School Corporation has also seen an uptick recently, with five students and two employees currently “excluded” from school because of positive COVID-19 tests. Another 46 students and six employees are excluded because they have had close contact with someone who has tested positive.

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. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 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. Butz emphasized the importance of those measures especially as the winter brings more indoor activities.

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.