A chart shows the number of statewide COVID-19 cases by day since March 2020. Source: Indiana Department of Health

By Liz Shepherd
InkFreeNews

WARSAW — Kosciusko County has reported three new COVID-19 deaths in the past week, bringing the county’s total to 127. The county has reported 10,249 positive cases.

According to the Indiana Department of Health website, the deaths occurred on Wednesday, Aug. 18; Friday, Aug. 20; and Saturday, Aug. 21.

Locally, on the Indiana Department of Health’s two-metric and advisory level COVID-19 maps, Marshall County is back in the “orange” category, with a 10.4% positivity rate.

Kosciusko County is also in the “orange” category, with a 6.9% positivity rate. The county has reported 217 new weekly cases per 100,000 residents. Since its number of cases would categorize Kosciusko in the “red” category and the percentage would result in a “yellow” category, the two are averaged together, resulting in the “orange” category.

Earlier on Wednesday, the county health department issued a statement warning of an increasing number of cases.

IDH relies on a color-coded county map that measures percent positivity and new cases per 100,000 residents. The baseline for red is 15%.

Wabash County Health Department recently reported two new COVID-19 deaths. The county has reported 4,143 positive cases and 86 deaths.

Whitley County Health Department also reported one new COVID-19 death, which occurred on Monday, Aug. 23. The county has reported 4,564 positive cases and 47 deaths.

Kosciusko County has a high community transmission rate for COVID-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC’s website categorizes transmission rates in four levels: low, moderate, substantial and high. The map shows that 91 of Indiana’s 92 counties are in the ‘high’ category. About 90% of the United States is marked in the ‘high’ category.

The CDC website is updated regularly and you can search for specific counties here.

More than 27,300 people in Kosciusko County have been fully vaccinated for COVID-19.

The color-coded county metrics map on the IDH website shows a majority of counties in the “orange” category. Color-coded county metrics are based on each county’s seven-day positivity rate and the number of newly reported weekly cases per 100,000 residents. Orange counties are categorized as such when they have a seven-day positivity rate between 10% and 14.9% and/or 100 to 199 new weekly cases per 100,000 residents. Source: Indiana Department of Health

More than 3,065,000 Hoosiers are considered to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19. According to statewide demographics, about 55% of those fully vaccinated are individuals who are 50 and older. About 53% of people fully vaccinated are female.

Statewide, the IDH website shows the number of COVID-19 deaths in Indiana rose to 13,903.

The total positive number of reported COVID-19 cases in Indiana is now at 833,968. More than 12,011,000 COVID-19 tests have been administered to Hoosiers.

Since the pandemic began, locally, Fulton County has reported 2,292 positive cases, Marshall County has 6,684 positive cases, Noble County has 6,478 positive cases, and Elkhart County has 30,768.

In other northern Indiana counties, Lake County has 59,139 positive cases; Allen County has 47,386 positive cases; and St. Joseph County has 38,786 positive cases.

According to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center, more than 631,000 people in the United States have died due to COVID-19.

Vaccination Percentages by ZIP Code

COVID-19 vaccination percentages by county ZIP code are available on the state’s management performance hub.

• 46508 (Burket) 51% of residents
• 46582 (Warsaw area) 49% of residents
• 46538 (Leesburg) 46% of residents
• 46580 (Warsaw) 45% of residents
• 46555 (North Webster) 44% of residents
• 46567 (Syracuse) 44% of residents
• 46506 (Bremen area) 41% of residents
• 46962 (North Manchester area) 41% of residents
• 46590 (Winona Lake) 40% of residents
• 46787 (South Whitley) 38% of residents