Jay County stays blue, positivity increases

Jay County is blue again. It’s positivity rate nearly pushed it to yellow.

In Indiana State Department of Health’s update Wednesday, Jay County was rated blue (low risk for the spread of coronavirus) for the third consecutive week.

While the county stayed at the state’s lowest rating, it did so barely. Its positivity rate for the week was 4.87%, just 0.13 percentage points below the 5% threshold that would have pushed the county to yellow (moderate risk). The positivity rate is up from 3.92% last week. It had been as low as 1.87% last month.

Jay County’s cases per 100,000 residents bumped down a bit to 68. It had been at 78 last week.

In the area, Adams, Delaware and Randolph counties all remained blue while Wells County dropped to blue after being yellow last week. Blackford County remained yellow for the third consecutive week.

Indiana saw an increase in counties rated “orange” (high risk) with seven this week, all in the northern third of the state. Thirty-nine counties were rated yellow and the remaining 46 were blue.

Coronavirus vaccination appointments are open to all Hoosiers 16 and older. Jay County currently has vaccination clinics available at Jay County Health Department and IU Health Jay. Appointments can be made online at ourshot.in.gov or by calling the state’s 2-1-1 telephone assistance service.

Jay County Health Department has also opened its vaccination clinic to walk-ins from noon to 6 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

As of Wednesday, 9,605 doses of coronavirus vaccine had been administered in Jay County. That includes 4,346 individuals who are fully vaccinated.

Statewide, 3.8 million doses have been administered with 1.62 million individuals fully vaccinated.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines encourage wearing a mask, avoiding close contact when around others, frequent hand washing and surface cleaning as ways to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Indiana is under a “mask advisory,” meaning masks are recommended but not required.

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. 

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