By Liz Shepherd
InkFreeNews

The color-coded county metrics map on the IDH website shows all but two counties in the “blue” or “yellow” categories. 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. Yellow counties are categorized as such when they have a seven-day positivity rate between 5% and 9.9% and/or 10 to 99 new weekly cases per 100,000 residents. Source: Indiana Department of Health

WARSAW — Kosciusko County is back in the “yellow” category on both the two-metric and advisory level COVID-19 maps.

According to the Indiana Department of Health dashboard, the county’s positivity rate is 3.8%. This is an increase from a 2.5% positivity rate reported last week. Kosciusko’s weekly COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents is at 117. The county’s increase in weekly cases has resulted in the color change.

Wabash County has also returned to the “yellow” category on both maps with a 5.5% positivity rate and 109 weekly COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents.

Marshall County has remained in the “blue” category on the two-metric map for two consecutive weeks, with a 2.3% positivity rate. The decrease moves the county into the “blue” category on the advisory level map.

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%.

The advisory level is used to establish guidelines for counties regarding restrictions on gatherings.

Under Gov. Eric Holcomb’s pandemic requirements, social gatherings of any kind in yellow counties are limited to 100 people.

Marshall County Health Department also reported one new COVID-19 death in the last seven days. The death occurred on Thursday, March 25. This brings the county to 107 deaths and 5,613 positive cases.

More than 10,100 people in Kosciusko County have been fully vaccinated for COVID-19. This is up from 8,600 reported last week.

A look at the number of people in each county that have been fully vaccinated for COVID-19.

An estimated 16,081 people in Kosciusko County have been administered their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. More than 1,133,000 Hoosiers are considered to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19. This is up from 992,000 reported last week.

According to statewide demographics, 69% of those fully vaccinated are individuals who are 60 and older. 58% of people fully vaccinated are female.

Kosciusko County has had 112 COVID-19 deaths and 8,842 positive cases.

Statewide, the IDH website shows the number of COVID-19 deaths in Indiana rose to 12,633.

The total positive number of reported COVID-19 cases in Indiana is now at 686,497. More than 8,903,000 COVID-19 tests have been administered to Hoosiers.

Locally, Fulton County has 1,865 positive cases, Wabash County has 3,419 positive cases, and Whitley County has 3,646 positive cases. Noble County has 5,251 positive cases and Elkhart County has 26,316.

In other northern Indiana counties, Lake County has 49,981 positive cases; Allen County has 37,782 positive cases; and St. Joseph County has 32,208 positive cases.

According to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center, more than 551,000 people in the United States have died due to COVID-19.