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All Indiana counties still ‘red’ on state COVID-19 tracking map, but new cases appear to be on a downward trend

Indiana Department of Health

All of Indiana’s 92 counties remained in the most severe “red” category on the state’s COVID-19 tracking map for the third week in a row. But cases appear to be decreasing.

Two weeks ago marked the first time every single Indiana county was in the “red” category, which indicates unchecked community spread of COVID-19.

All WVPE listener counties have been “red” since Jan. 12.

But new statewide COVID cases appear to be on a downward trend. On Tuesday, Indiana reported 6,872 new cases and the seven-day moving average was about 8,737.

That’s a sizable drop from the one-day case record of 17,275 set Jan. 21, and from last Wednesday’s seven-day moving average of 11,401.

But despite the drop, cases are still higher than every previous surge since the beginning of the pandemic.

Between Oct. 21 and Nov. 3, the seven-day moving average plateaued between 1,550 and 1,650.

Hospitalizations continue to remain steady in Healthcare District Two, which covers most of the WVPE listening area. Except for last Friday, they’ve remained above 240 since Nov. 25.

As of Tuesday, there were 236 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 and 15 more suspected of having the disease for a total of 251.

That’s a slight decrease from last Tuesday’s 288, but 20.4 percent of percent of area ICU beds are available — just over seven percentage points better than the statewide average of 13.2 percent.

Currently, 2,705 Hoosiers are hospitalized with COVID-19, 814 less than the Jan. 13 peak of 3,519.

Downtown South Bend on the morning of Feb. 2 during Winter Storm Landon, which was forecast to bring at least a foot of snow to Michiana.
Justin Hicks
/
IPB News
Downtown South Bend on the morning of Feb. 2 during Winter Storm Landon, which was forecast to bring at least a foot of snow to Michiana.

Due to Winter Storm Landon, the Indiana Department of Health has closed or reduced hours at COVID-19 vaccine and testing clinics across the state Wednesday and Thursday.

Locally, the St. Joseph and Elkhart County Health Departments have also closed clinics Wednesday and Thursday. Normal operations are expected to resume Friday.

According to Indiana’s vaccine dashboard, 56 percent of Hoosiers aged 5 and older and 60.3 percent of Hoosiers aged 12 and older are fully vaccinated.

In addition, about 45 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 Jakob at jlazzaro@wvpe.org or follow him on Twitter at @JakobLazzaro.

If you appreciate this kind of journalism on your local NPR station, please support it by donating here.

Jakob Lazzaro came to Indiana from Chicago, where he graduated from Northwestern University in 2020 with a degree in Journalism and a double major in History. Before joining WVPE, he wrote NPR's Source of the Week e-mail newsletter, and previously worked for CalMatters, Pittsburgh's 90.5 WESA and North by Northwestern.