Wayne County among 81 Indiana counties scoring red in COVID-19 metrics
RICHMOND, Ind. — Wayne County received a red metric score for its COVID-19 transmission Wednesday from the Indiana State Department of Health.
But the county is hardly alone as the Omicron variant impacts Indiana.
Of Indiana's 92 counties, 81 scored the 3.0 that ranks red in the state metrics that measure seven days of cases and positivity rate. Fayette County, which had a positivity rate less than 15%, was one of the 11 counties that scored orange, the level below red.
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Christine Stinson, executive director of the Wayne County Health Department, said mitigation efforts are necessary to reduce the virus' spread. In a news release, she said receiving COVID-19 vaccinations, including a booster shot, is the most important strategy, followed by properly wearing a mask in public spaces.
“I am often asked what kind of mask I should be wearing,” Stinson said in the release. “My answer is always, wear the mask that fits you properly and the mask that you have, number one. That is the most important thing. A N95 or KN95 are more effective, but the surgical mask is effective when worn properly.”
Avoiding crowds is another strategy that can slow virus transmission, and if in a crowd, social distancing should be practiced.
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Anyone with symptoms should stay home, and anyone testing positive for COVID-19 should follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's five-day isolation guidelines.
Anyone informed they are a close contact to someone who is COVID-19 positive should follow the CDC's five-day quarantine guidelines and get tested if symptoms develop.
“If these mitigation strategies are implemented by individuals, this could go a long way to bring our cases back down to a more manageable number and would also help our hospital and healthcare system,” said Dr. David Jetmore, Wayne County’s health officer, in the release.
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Wayne County, which previously scored red Sept. 8, will remain in the state's red advisory level for at least two weeks. The county would need to record an orange metric score for two consecutive weeks before its advisory level can be adjusted, according to the state policy.
That's exactly what happened during September, but it seems unlikely this month as high case totals continue and the positivity rate climbs even higher.
The metric score is calculated each week on statistics from the previous Monday through Sunday. Wayne County's case total adjusted for a population of 100,000 was eight times more than the 200 cases per 100,000 people necessary to score a 3, which is the red level. The positivity rate was 17.73% Sunday, which also scored a 3 for being more than 15%, and had climbed to 18.1% Tuesday.
The case and positivity rate scores are averaged for the county's metric score, in this case a 3.0 that is the only red score. Scores of zero and 0.5 are blue, 1.0 and 1.5 are yellow and 2.0 and 2.5 are orange. After the September red score, the county returned to orange then yellow Nov. 3 for a week before jumping back to orange on Nov. 10. It had remained orange since then because, despite rising cases, the positivity rate had remained less than 15%.
Prior to January, Wayne County had recorded more than 100 cases on a single day eight times in 22 months, topped by 143 cases on Aug. 31, 2021. Through Tuesday, the county had recorded nine consecutive days of case totals reaching triple-digits, with five of those days surpassing the 143 total. The county's top single-day case totals, as updated in the state's day-by-day dashboard, are:
202 on Jan. 8, 2022;
189 on Jan. 7, 2022;
168 on Jan. 9, 2022;
167 on Jan. 6, 2022;
163 on Jan. 11, 2022;
143 on Aug. 31, 2021;
120 on Dec. 29, 2021;
118 on Jan. 5, 2022;
114 on Dec. 30, 2021;
110 on Sept. 9, 2021;
107 on Dec. 28, 2021;
105 on Jan. 10, 2022;
105 on Jan. 4, 2022;
105 on Aug. 25, 2021;
103 on Nov. 19, 2020;
102 on Jan. 3, 2022; and
100 on Nov. 18, 2020.
Through 11 January days, there had already been 1,410 laboratory-confirmed cases and eight COVID-related deaths among county residents. The cases already give January the fifth-highest monthly total since the pandemic began, just 375 cases from taking the top spot.
Overall, Wayne County has had 14,956 cases and 295 deaths, according to the state statistics.
This article originally appeared on Richmond Palladium-Item: COVID-19 metrics: Wayne County scoring red in Indiana updated numbers
