For the first time, all WVPE listener counties are in the “blue” on the Indiana Department of Health’s color-coded COVID-19 tracking map. Blue is the least serious of the state’s four color categories, indicating low spread of the virus.
Fulton County dropped to “blue” from the “yellow” category, which indicates moderate spread of the virus, this week.
Marshall, St. Joseph, Starke, Kosciusko, Pulaski, LaPorte, Elkhart and LaGrange counties have been in the “blue” for several weeks.
Statewide, only six counties are left in the “yellow.”
Indiana has identified 191 cases of the highly contagious Delta variant, which has fueled surges in cases around the world. In recent weeks, Missouri has seen the first widespread outbreak of the Delta variant in the United States.
So far, no Delta variant cases have been confirmed in WVPE’s Indiana counties, but several have been found in Southwest Michigan.
According to the state’s vaccine dashboard, 48.4 percent of Hoosiers age 12 and over have been fully vaccinated. Recent studies on the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines have found they’re still highly effective against the Delta variant.
Hospitalizations in Healthcare District 2, which covers most of the WVPE listening area, have remained at low levels when compared to last week. Only 18 COVID-19 patients were hospitalized in the district as of June 30, and only 3.3 percent iof ICU beds were occupied by COVID-19 patients.
Contact Jakob at jlazzaro@wvpe.org or follow him on Twitter at @JakobLazzaro.
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