Vanderburgh County nets 273 new COVID cases, remains at orange

Sarah Loesch, Evansville Courier & Press
·1 min read

EVANSVILLE — With Christmas celebrations in the rear-view mirror and New Year's celebrations on the horizon, 273 COVID-19 cases were added to Vanderburgh County's total Wednesday.

This exceeds the daily number of 203 new cases reported Aug. 11, which prompted the return of masks in county- and city-owned buildings. But it remains below the record of 313 set on Dec. 31, 2020.

The report brings the county's pandemic total to 37,544 cases since its start. No new deaths were reported Wednesday, keeping the total at 509.

Vanderburgh and its surrounding counties all remained orange in the Indiana State Department of Health's weekly update.

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Warrick County reported 70 new cases and one new death, bringing its case total to 13,282 for the pandemic. Posey County counted reported 19 new cases, and Gibson County reported 48.

Vanderburgh County currently has a 7-day positivity rate of 11.2%.

The state dashboard was paused over the Christmas holiday and will stop again after Thursday, with new cases and deaths not reported until Monday.

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Vanderburgh and its neighbors all remain at a score of 2.5 on the state's advisory scale — the highest a county can be before being placed in the red at a score of 3. Scores are based on weekly cases per 100,000 residents and 7-day all tests positivity rate.

At a news conference Wednesday, Gov. Eric Holcomb extended Indiana's public health emergency into 2022.

State Health Commissioner Dr. Kristina Box said every county in Indiana is currently classified at an orange or red advisory level.

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This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Vanderburgh County COVID: 273 new cases, remains at orange