Jay is orange again

We’re orange again.

Indiana State Department of Health’s updated county metrics today moved Jay County back to “orange” (high risk for the spread of coronavirus). The county had been “yellow” (moderate risk) last week when it was the only county in the state to reach that status.

County metrics are based on Sunday numbers, with updates released on Wednesdays.

Jay County’s indicators — cases per 100,000 residents and seven-day positivity rate — that are used in the metrics both bumped up this week. Its case number, which had dropped to 190 per 100,000 residents last week, is now back up to 264. Its positivity rate moved up to 10.5% from 9.5% a week earlier.

The state department of health’s metrics continued to show greater risk statewide. Fifty-seven of Indiana’s 92 counties were “red” (severe risk) this week. The other 35, including Jay and each of its adjacent counties, were “orange.”

“Across the state of Indiana if you look at all the counties and the state in general, we call kind of rebounded after the holidays,” said Jay County Health Department environmentalist and administrator Heath Butz. “I believe we’re seeing that increase after people got together we’re seeing some instances of transmission from those type of gatherings.”

Jay County has seen its numbers come down since their November peak when the county recorded 684 cases for an average of 22.8 per day. It averaged 18.9 cases per day through the first 16 days of December and then 7 per day for the rest of that month. It is averaging 6.6 cases per day through the first five days of January.

The county finished 2020 with 1,511 total cases, with nearly 1,100 of those in November and December. It had 21 deaths, including one on New Year’s Eve.

Butz re-emphasized the importance of continuing to follow safety measures to help slow the spread of coronavirus.

“It's still very important that we still wear our masks, socially distance, sanitize our hands, avoid crowds and do all those things we’ve been talking about,” said Butz. “We need to keep doing those even if we’re in ‘yellow,’ that’s still a significant amount of community spread going on. To get a reduction in transmission, we need to keep doing those things.”

The bump back up to “orange” came just hours after health officer Dr. Jerry Whetzel noted at the Jay County Board of Health meeting that Jay County Health Department is expected to receive its first delivery of coronavirus vaccine this week. Doses are planned to be administered next week with a likely focus on first responders.

Butz said Wednesday afternoon, reiterating Whetzel’s comments from earlier in the day, that it remains unclear when more doses of the vaccine will be delivered and made available to the general public. The health department is working on logistics, including locations and staffing, and hope to have details by the end of the month.

Officials have cautioned that the vaccination process will take months to complete.

“The light at the end of the tunnel is there, and that’s the vaccine, but we’ve got a little ways to go …” said Butz. “Once we get our clinic up and running, it’s going to be running for months.”

Coronavirus is mainly spread through respiratory droplets or small particles from an infected person coughing, sneezing, talking or breathing. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 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, which can appear two to 14 days after exposure. Older adults and those with pre-existing health problems are susceptible to more severe illnesses.