Jay rated red again

Jay County is red again.

It has more company this week.

In Indiana State Department of Health’s update Wednesday, Jay County was one of 11 counties to be rated “red” (extreme risk for the spread of coronavirus).

Eleven counties — mostly in the northeast corner of the state — were rated red this week, up from six last week. Joining Jay County were Grant, Wabash, Whitley, DeKalb, Noble, Steuben, LaGrange, Elkhart, Brown and Jennings counties.

Seventy-three counties, including Adams, Wells, Blackford, Delaware and Randolph, were rated “orange” (high risk) this week. That put 84 of the state’s counties at the highest two risk levels, double the number that were rated orange or red just three weeks ago.

Only eight counties were rated “yellow” (moderate risk), and none were rated “blue” (low risk).

Jay County’s numbers in the two metrics the state department of health uses to determine coronavirus risk were nearly unchanged from the previous week, both going down slightly. Its cases per 100,000 residents came in at 401 after being at 411 a week earlier. The seven-day positivity rate was 15.4%, also a minimal decrease from last week’s 15.87%.

Both numbers remain up significantly from just two weeks ago, when they came in a 249 and 8.82%, respectively.

The county is on pace for 305 new cases of COVID-19 this month, up from 244 last month. (That number would still be less than half of the November 2020 total of 684, the highest monthly mark thus far during the pandemic.)

COVID-related hospitalizations in District 6, which includes Jay County, have continued to climb. After dipping as low was 127 early this month, the number was up to 227 as of Tuesday.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continues to indicate that vaccination is the best way to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The vaccines is now available to all Hoosiers 5 and older. Those 65 and older, and those at high risk, are eligible for boosters.

Jay County now has nine vaccination sites — CVS in Portland and Dunkirk, Walgreens and Walmart 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, Walmart and the IU Health Jay sites.)

Jay County continues to rank sixth-lowest in vaccination rate among Indiana’s 92 counties. Its rate — it is now measured for the 5-and-older age group; it was previously measured by 12-and-older before the child vaccine was approved — is 37.1%. Marion County is highest in the state at 72.1%.

The CDC also recommends wearing a mask indoors for those who are in an area 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 and shortness of breath, which can appear up to 14 days after exposure.