The Elkhart County Health Department is urging caution following the county’s return to “red” on Indiana’s COVID-19 tracking map.
The red category indicates unchecked community spread of the virus.
A release from the health department says regional hospital beds are filling rapidly, and elective surgeries are being cancelled “on a daily basis” to accommodate the increase in COVID-19 patients.
It also says local employers are reporting the highest number of new infections since the pandemic began.
With nearly 60 percent of the county still unvaccinated, the health department is urging residents to consider the possibility that large gatherings could become super-spreader events.
The release says unvaccinated, high-risk individuals should mask up at those gatherings or avoid them altogether. It also says everyone, regardless of risk level, should get vaccinated as soon as possible and wear a mask indoors in public.
Hoosiers ages 5 and older are currently eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine. You can find vaccination clinics and testing sites online, or call 211.
Contact Gemma atgdicarlo@wvpe.orgor follow her on Twitter at@gemma_dicarlo.
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