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For the first time, all Hoosier counties in ‘red’ on Indiana’s COVID-19 tracking map

IDOH

For the first time, every single Hoosier county is in the most serious “red” category on the Indiana Department of Health's COVID-19 tracking map, indicating unchecked spread of the coronavirus.

Last week, eleven Indiana counties were still in the “orange” category, which indicates high spread of the virus — though all WVPE listener counties were in the red.

But this week, all 92 Hoosier counties are in the red for the first time since the department of health launched its tracking map back in September 2020.

And on Tuesday, Indiana reported 16,354 new COVID-19 cases — its second-highest one-day total to date.

Hospitalizations are once again rising in Healthcare District 2, which covers most of the WVPE listening area. But they’re lower than they were a month ago, and are still below the winter 2020 peak.

Statewide, more COVID-19 patients are hospitalized now than at the peak of the winter 2020 surge.

Only 10.7 percent of ICU beds are available statewide, but 11.6 percent are available in District 2 — an increase from 8.9 percent last week.

According to the state’s vaccine dashboard, 55.5 percent of eligible Hoosiers — those ages 5 and over — are fully vaccinated.

In addition, about 44 percent of fully vaccinated Hoosiers have received COVID-19 booster shots. But vaccination rates still vary widely by zip code.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, all counties in Indiana and Michigan have “high” community spread of the virus. That means both vaccinated and unvaccinated Michiganders and Hoosiers should wear masks indoors.

Contact Gemma at gdicarlo@wvpe.org or follow her on Twitter at @gemma_dicarlo.

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Gemma DiCarlo came to Indiana by way of Athens, Georgia. She graduated from the University of Georgia in 2020 with a degree in Journalism and certificates in New Media and Sustainability. She has radio experience from her time as associate producer of Athens News Matters, the flagship public affairs program at WUGA-FM.