Jay still rated orange

The risk is still high.

Jay County was rated “orange” (high risk for the spread of coronavirus) for the ninth straight week when Indiana State Department of Health released its update Wednesday.

The local seven-day positivity rate stayed essentially the same, coming in at 13.93%. It was 14% last week.

Jay County’s cases per 100,000 residents dropped to 393 this week. It had been in the mid 300s for most of September and had jumped to 455 last week.

Thus far in October, the county is averaging 8.9 new cases of COVID-19 per day in October. That’s about the same amount as in August after the average jumped to 11.7 per day in September.

Most of the state was rated orange this week, with 69 of its 92 counties in that category. Those included Wells, Blackford, Delaware and Randolph counties.

Fifteen counties, including Adams, were “yellow” (moderate risk), and eight were red (extreme risk).

Hospitalizations for COVID-19 in the area continued to come down this week after peaking at 391 a month ago. District 6, which includes Jay County, reported 195 hospitalizations as of Wednesday.

Vaccination continues to be the best way to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Clinics in Jay County are available at Jay County Health Department, Walgreens in Portland and CVS in both Portland and Dunkirk.

Jay County continues to rank sixth-lowest in vaccination rate among Indiana’s 92 counties.

According to the CDC, 41.3% of those 12 and older in the county have been vaccinated. That’s up by 3 percentage points since early September.

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.