COVID-19 alert status dropping in many Indiana counties

The Evening News and the Tribune, Jeffersonville, Ind.
·2 min read

Feb. 17—INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana's COVID-19 county-level advisory map released Wednesday showed all of the state's 92 counties with a metric score of 2.0 or below on a 3.0 scale, and none of them were color-coded with a red alert status.

The score, which reflects positivity rates and the number of cases per 100,000 residents, must be maintained for two weeks before a county is moved to a lower advisory, according to the Indiana Department of Health coronavirus website. Clark and Floyd counties both had a Weekly-2 metric score of 1.5, but are still considered under an orange advisory level.

The state Health Department reported that 933 additional Hoosiers have been diagnosed with COVID-19 through testing at state and private laboratories. That brings to 651,453 the number of Indiana residents now known to have had the novel coronavirus following corrections to the previous days dashboard.

New COVID-19 cases in Clark County numbered 24, bringing its total to 11,726. Two more deaths were recorded in Clark, which has had 179 deaths. Floyd County added 13 more cases for a total of 7,067. Deaths in Floyd held at 161 overall.

A total of 11,825 Hoosiers are confirmed to have died from COVID-19, an increase of 20 from the previous day. Another 425 probable deaths have been reported based on clinical diagnoses in patients for whom no positive test is on record.

To date, 3,062,008 unique individuals have been tested in Indiana, up from 3,057,498 on Tuesday. A total of 7,624,956 tests, including repeat tests for unique individuals, have been reported to the state Department of Health since Feb. 26, 2020.

Indiana's seven-day positivity rate for unique individuals was 11.7%, compared with Clark County's 12.3% and Floyd County's 16.3%.

To find testing sites around the state, visit www.coronavirus.in.gov and click on the COVID-19 testing information link.

Hoosiers age 65 and older, along with healthcare workers, long-term care residents and first responders who are regularly called to the scene of an emergency to render medical assistance, are now eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. To schedule, visit https://ourshot.in.gov or call 211 if you do not have access to a computer or require assistance. Individuals must show proof that they live or work in Indiana and meet the eligibility criteria to receive a vaccine.

As of today, 834,478 Hoosiers have received a first dose of vaccine and 356,204 are fully vaccinated.

Additional locations and appointments are being added as more vaccine becomes available.