TIMES UNION REPORTS – Though only slightly, the COVID-19 numbers in Kosciusko County and Indiana have gone down this past week compared to the week prior.
But is it too early to say the cases have peaked?
“I think it is. Give us another week or two, but I agree,” Kosciusko County Public Health Officer Dr. William Remington said optimistically but hesitantly Wednesday during the weekly pandemic press conference at Warsaw City Hall. “I don’t have a graphical display for everybody to see, but you can go to the dashboard from the State Department of Health. I think you’ll see that maybe we’re seeing a plateauing. Like last week may be the peak.”
Remington began Wednesday’s press conference with the latest case figures for the county and state.
The first known case in Kosciusko County was March 26, 2020. The county’s number of cases is up to 11,345, up from 11,066 as of Sept. 15. There’s been one additional death since last week, putting the county’s COVID-19 death count at 135.
Kosciusko also remains in the “orange” advisory level this week from the Indiana State Department of Health, where it has remained for several weeks. The advisory levels are blue, yellow, orange and red, with blue being the best and red the worst.
The positivity rate for the county is at 12.8%, down from 13.3% Sept. 15. The state watches the positivity rate trend closely as it decides on the county’s advisory level, he said.
The county is averaging about 34 new cases daily, up from 27 a week ago. At the county’s worst in November, it was 134.
“Another key metric is the number of weekly cases per 100,000 population. We’re at 387 now, we were at 390 a week ago,” Remington said.
Indiana hospitalizations are at 2,477, down from 2,687 Sept. 15. At its worst, it was at 3,460 Dec. 1. Indiana deaths moving average is down to 20 from 23 Sept. 15. The state’s worst was 100 in November.
As for vaccinations, Remington said the stats across Indiana are about the same as they were a week ago – 6.4 million doses given and 3.2 million Hoosiers, who are age eligible, are fully immunized. In Kosciusko County, there are 28,725 residents fully immunized (43% of those eligible), up 435 doses from a week ago when the county was at 42% of those fully immunized.
“So, cases, just a little bit softer. Vaccination stats kind of static, although, 400 extra people in our county fully immunized I think is good. We were 300 and some more from the previous seven-day interval, so a few more people coming in for immunizations,” he said.
The U.S. did hit a “sobering milestone” this week, he said. It is believed the 1918-1919 Spanish flu claimed 675,000 Americans, although, statistics were not well kept over a century ago. The number of U.S. deaths due to COVID-19 has “crossed that threshold” in the last couple of days, Remington said. The population of the U.S. was much different then than it is today, but it’s “still a sobering milestone.”
Indiana hospitalizations are softer this week, he offered as a “positive note.” On Sept. 16, there were less than 2,600 total admissions for COVID-19 across the state, for seven days in a row, the first time cases have been below that threshold since June.
“So, hooray, right? That’s a little bit softer, just a little bit,” he said.
Local hospitals continue to “feel a lot of heat” from the high census of in-patients, many related to COVID-19, he said. Local transmission remains “very high” in Kosciusko County.
“We need layered mitigation. All those things we’ve been saying: immunizations, masking, social distancing, good hand washing, avoiding crowded venues particularly indoor venues. Rethinking how you frame up an indoor gathering if you are an event planner. All of that makes a difference,” Remington said. “And, perhaps, most of all, as I was reminded by our communicable disease nurse, Teresa Reed, this morning, stay home if ill. Please. Please. If you’re coughing, feel achy, rundown, don’t go to work. Don’t go to school. Seek a test. There’s a high likelihood it could be COVID.”
The Kosciusko County Health Department continues to offer COVID immunization Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 8:30 to 10 a.m. It will expand as staff feels it needs to. The KCHD has all three vaccines that are FDA approved, and patients may choose which one they want.
Visit ourshot.in.gov; call 211; or go to your pharmacy to also schedule a vaccine. Scheduling an appointment in advance helps, Remington said. “Please be immunized.”
Bowen Center CEO and President Kurt Carlson said the testing site at the fairgrounds is down from its high point of 200 a day. It leveled off for a while at 160 tests a day, but now averages about 120 per day. The site is fully staffed.
He said two-thirds of the people who get tested are symptomatic, which is the opposite of what the testing site experienced early on.
Warsaw Mayor Joe Thallemer said if any organization or company or industry wants to have a mobile site, they can contact Bob Weaver at the KCHD.
Looking at information he was provided Tuesday from the state, Thallemer said breakthrough cases (people who get COVID-19 even though they’ve been vaccinated) since Jan. 18 “are about 1% of fully vaccinated individuals. That accounts for about 10% of the total cases since January. Again, this is Department of Health information. What really struck me, again, about the importance of vaccination was just the information from the week of Sept. 5. … Of all the new hospital admissions, 1.1% of those folks are fully vaccinated. So it’s a very, very small number if you’re fully vaccinated of your chance of going to the hospital. Those going into the hospital, only 1.1% of those new admissions were fully vaccinated.”
He said that was slightly higher for those going into ICU – about 2% – for those who are fully vaccinated.
Deaths for those who are fully vaccinated are under 1% as of Sept. 5 as reported by the ISDH, Thallemer said.
“So, those are just, to me, compelling reasons to be vaccinated,” he said.
“I’m a little encouraged, I’m a little bit more optimistic, I think there’s a little slight uptick in those seeking vaccinations now. We just need to keep it up,” Thallemer said.
