Orange again

Jay County is orange again.

In Indiana State Department of Health’s update Wednesday, the county was rated “orange” (high risk of the spread of coronavirus) for the second consecutive week.

The bulk of the Hoosier state was designated “red” (severe risk) in Wednesday’s update, with 73 of 92 counties at that level. That list included Blackford and Wells counties.

The remaining 19, including Adams, Delaware and Randolph counties in addition to Jay, were orange. Randolph County was also flagged because of a “large number of the weekly cases being attributable to congregate settings.”

The county metrics are based on two statistics — weekly cases per 100,000 and seven-day positivity rate.

Jay County’s cases per 100,000 came in at 288 this week, up from 264 last week. It has been over 800 in November and early December before dropping to 190 two weeks ago.

The local positivity rate came in at 12.4%, which was also up from last week’s 10.5%. It had been over 20% last month and had dropped to 9.5% two weeks ago.

Jay County initially made the move to red (severe) on the day before Thanksgiving. It remained there for four weeks before dropping back to orange and then yellow. But it quickly returned to orange last week and remained there this week. (County metrics are updated each Wednesday based on Sunday’s statistics.)

New cases have been down locally over the last several weeks. They were in single digits 21 of the last 25 days after being in double digits for the bulk of November and the first half of December. (The single-day high was 44 on Nov. 20.)

The county is averaging 7.3 new cases per day this month after being at 22.8 in November and 13.2 in December.

The hope from local and state health officials is that as vaccinations become available, the number of hospitalizations and deaths will also decline. As of Wednesday’s update, Indiana has totaled 574,119 cases of COVID-19 and 8,790 deaths.

Jay County Health Department’s coronavirus vaccination clinic opened for the first time Tuesday, with 50 doses being given by the end of the day. The clinic is open again today.

Heath Butz, environmentalist and administrator with the health department, said he felt the opening day went well.

“I think a lot of people see it and they see those first steps to the light at the end of the tunnel,” he said. “And especially for those high-risk populations. These are people that have been on lockdown since March, a lot of them. They’ve been trying to be safe. This gives them somewhat of a peace of mind, which is a great thing.”

Initially available only to Hoosiers 80 and older, Indiana State Department of Health early Wednesday expanded appointments to those 70 and older. Dr. Lindsay Weaver, the department’s chief medical officer, said that in the first five hours of availability nearly 60,000 Indiana residents between 70 and 79 had scheduled appointments at ourshot.in.gov or by calling the state’s 2-1-1 telephone assistance service.

The current vaccination clinic schedule at Jay County Health Department, 504 W. Arch St., Portland, is as follows:

•11:15 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. today

•8:30 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. Saturday

•11:15 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday

•11:15 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Jan. 21

•8:30 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. Jan. 23

Butz said Tuesday that the first day of the clinic allowed the health department to gauge the flow of patients. That will help, he said, as officials make plans for larger clinics as the vaccine becomes more widely available.

According to Weaver, the state will expand eligibility “as quickly as supplies and resources allow.”

“Our goal is to reduce deaths and hospitalizations. And that makes this the right approach,” added state’s health commissioner Dr. Kristina Box. “Our system is working and we are going to stick with it."

Hoosiers ages 60-and-older are being prioritized because the age group accounts for the majority of hospitalizations and deaths attributed to COVID-19.

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.

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.