Jay County is rated red again

Color Jay County red, again.

In Indiana State Department of Health’s update Wednesday, the county was rated “red” (extreme risk for the spread of coronavirus) for the fourth time in the last five weeks.

The local cases per 100,000 residents came down a bit while the seven-day positivity rate increased, but both statistics the state uses to determine coronavirus risk were well above the threshold for the county to be rated red.

Jay County recorded 689 cases per 100,000 resident this week down from 871 last week. (The threshold for the “red” rating is 200 cases.)

The seven-day positivity rate in the county went up to 18.8% from 17.1% last week. (The threshold for red is 15%.)

Jay County has recorded double-digit COVID-19 new case totals 12 out of 14 days in December, has surpassed 20 eight times and posted the pandemic high of 49 cases on Dec. 1. It is averaging 21.5 cases per day this month, which is the second highest during the pandemic. (The county averaged 22.8 new cases per day in November 2020.)

The county is showing no signs of being reduced to “orange” (high risk) next week with the cases per 100,000 residents near 650 and the positivity rate continuing to hover around 18%. (The state’s weekly Wednesday updates are based on Sunday’s numbers.)

Jay County has recorded 3,537 confirmed cases of COVID-19 over the course of the pandemic that began in March 2020. There have been 52 deaths, with more than a third (18) of those coming in the last 90 days.

As of Wednesday, hospitals in District 6, which includes Jay County, had 373 COVID-19 patients. That’s just short of the pandemic high of 391 in mid-September and is about triple the number of hospitalizations in the district in early November.

Vaccination is the best way to prevent the spread of COVID-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The vaccine is available to all Hoosiers 5 and older. 

Boosters are now available to and recommended for everyone 18 and older.

The state’s website indicates Jay County currently has eight vaccination sites — CVS in Portland and Dunkirk, Walgreens in Portland and Jay County Health Department, as well as IU Health Jay and its primary care provider practices. (Vaccines for children 5 to 11 years old are available only at the health department and the IU Health Jay sites.)

Jay County continues to rank sixth-lowest in vaccination rate among Indiana’s 92 counties. Its rate is 37.8%. Marion County is highest in the state at 75.1%.

It is also recommended by the CDC that masks be worn in doors in areas of “substantial or high transmission,” which includes Jay County.

Coronavirus is mainly spread through droplets or particles from an infected person coughing, sneezing, talking or breathing. 

The virus causes a range of symptoms, including fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, new loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion, runny nose, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, which can appear two to 14 days after exposure.