The Associated Press contributed to this story
Coronavirus cases are on the rise locally, reflecting what has been seen across the US.
New data from the Kosciusko County Health Department says 137 COVID cases have been seen county wide since the beginning of July, 51 of those were reported just last week. Communicable Disease Nurse Teresa Reed says she’s not shocked by the uptick.
“I’m cautious. Our total numbers are where they were a couple months ago, but since this was a change, I used to look at 80 cases and see one breakthrough case and since the middle of the month, we’ve been averaging a case a day.”
What is a COVID breakthrough case? A COVID-19 vaccine “breakthrough” case is when a vaccinated person gets infected with the coronavirus. Although the vaccines are very good at protecting people from severe illness, it’s still possible to get infected with mild or no symptoms, or even to get very sick.
Experts say the shots are good at reducing the severity of any illness you might experience. But with the more contagious delta variant, health officials cite new data indicating vaccinated people who get infected could carry enough of the virus to spread it to others. Previously, officials believed vaccinated people were unlikely to spread the virus if infected.
Reed said with the uptick, she doesn’t want people to panic, but just to remain vigilant and cautious, especially with the Delta variant circulating.
Kosciusko County was downgraded to a yellow status by the Indiana Department of Health on Wednesday, the second lowest advisory for COVID spread. In Indiana, the rolling average for positivity rate has tripled since June 23rd, up to 6.3 percent from 2.1 percent.
