Indiana’s COVID-19 situation is continuing to improve — nearly all WVPE listener counties are now in the “yellow” category on the Indiana Department of Health’s COVID-19 tracking map.
St. Joseph, Elkhart, Marshall, Kosciusko, Starke, Pulaski and LaPorte counties all moved to the yellow category this week, which indicates moderate spread of the virus.
LaGrange County was already in the yellow last week, but Fulton County is still in the “orange” category, which indicates high spread of the virus.
Statewide, only four counties are left in the “red” category, which indicates unchecked community spread. Just two weeks ago, there were only four Hoosier counties that weren’t in the red.
And at this time last month, all 92 Hoosier counties were in the red for the second week in a row.
Three counties are even in the least-serious “blue” category this week, which indicates low spread of the virus. This is the first time since mid-November — more than three months ago — that there has been any blue on the map.
New cases also continue to decrease statewide. On Tuesday, the state reported 929 new cases — roughly a 95 percent decrease from the one-day case record set on Jan. 20.
Case numbers are now comparable to July 2021, about seven months ago.
Hospitalizations are also on the decline in Healthcare District 2, which covers most of the WVPE listening area. As of Tuesday, 79 patients were hospitalized with COVID-19 — a 36 percent decrease from last week.
About 33 percent of area ICU beds are currently available, higher than the state average of 20.9 percent.
According to the state’s vaccine dashboard, 56.5 percent of eligible Hoosiers are fully vaccinated, and about 46.4 percent have received a booster shot. But vaccination rates still vary widely by zip code.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, most counties in Indiana and Michigan have “high” or “substantial” 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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