Grant County will remain in the red zone of the state’s color-coded COVID-19 metrics as residents ring in the new year after another record-setting month of new coronavirus cases.
According to data from Grant County EMA Director Bob Jackson, the county recorded more than 1,800 COVID-19 cases in December, higher than the previous monthly high of approximately 1,600 cases reported in November.
December marks the fourth straight month where the county has reported a new record-high number of new COVID cases.
Jackson said recent seven- and 14-day averages of new cases are trending downward, representing the last of an expected spike due to people gathering together for Thanksgiving. However, he expects a new spike to begin to show up in the data within the next few days following Christmas gatherings last week, noting spikes following large events or holidays are typically seen within eight to 12 days after the event.
The downward trend in cases has also coincided with a lower number of COVID patients at Marion General Hospital’s (MGH) emergency room. The hospital’s census of admitted patients and those in critical care has decreased as well, Jackson said. Officials expect this to only be a temporary reprieve before the next spike.
“So it’s a good time for our health care folks to hopefully get a little bit of a breather, get a few days. Hopefully we don’t see another spike, but that’s our anticipation, and unfortunately we’ve hit that mark a couple times now,” Jackson said. “So they know how to prepare for that and they’re in that process of doing it, so that’s where we’re moving along with that in anticipation of the next wave.”
The U.S. has reported its first known case of a new COVID-19 strain, first found in the United Kingdom, in Colorado, but no cases of the new strain have been reported in Indiana as of Wednesday. Health officer Dr. William David Moore said there are likely to be other additional new strains and mutations of the virus, but for the time being it is expected that the different strains will all respond to the currently available vaccines.
“There will be variations on how infectious it is and what different people it hits,” Moore said. “This one seems to be younger people that are affected, where the original one seems to be most affecting older people ... It seems to be a very aggressive and a very varied virus in terms of how it attacks human bodies.”
Commissioner Mark Bardsley said the county is reporting about a 1.7 percent mortality rate of those infected with COVID, slightly higher than the state’s 1.5 percent rate. Even with the high community spread, Bardsley said less than 10 percent of Indiana’s population has either been infected with COVID or been vaccinated so far. Health officials say an area will reach herd immunity when 70 percent of its residents have either been infected with COVID-19 or received the vaccine.
“So we really need to have folks realize that after eight plus months of all this going on, we still have 90 percent of the population that (will need), in some form or fashion, a vaccine or recover from getting sick... before we get to herd immunity,” Bardsley said.
The major step forward to reaching herd immunity will be the continual roll-out of vaccines, Bardsley said. As MGH continues to vaccinate health care workers in Grant and Wabash counties, Bardsley said the county health department is preparing for the next phase of vaccinations.
The next phase will include vaccinating at-risk individuals such as the elderly and those in long term care facilities as well as front line workers such as public safety and support service personnel. Bardsley said this phase could begin as early as Jan. 11 or 12.
As more people become eligible to be vaccinated, Bardsley said an additional approximately $200,000 of CARES Act funding that has been allocated to the county will be used for a public information campaign and for other various COVID needs such as supplies.
“So you’re going to see a major blitz coming up, social media, the TV, radio, as well as newsprint getting information out to folks as far as when, where, why and how it affects them,” Bardsley said. “So that’s going to be coming in the next couple, three weeks.”
Although some may think of being infected as a binary – either being sick enough to be placed on a ventilator and possibly die or suffering through the flu-like symptoms and recovering– Moore said research and documented cases of COVID patients have shown there are a variety of ailments that can result from the novel coronavirus with varying long-term effects.
Inflammation of the lungs has been a commonly observed effect of COVID and the body’s immune system response to it, but Moore said it can also cause blood clots that can cause a stroke, amputations or mental illnesses like dementia. Other long term effects include chronic fatigue and kidney and/or liver failure, he said.
“There are a lot of people who don’t die but whose inflammatory process can do long-term or perhaps even permanent damage,” Moore said. “We haven’t had it around long enough to know, but there are some that are going to have long-term damage. It’s a nasty virus, and it’s so much different from the flu in terms of its aggressiveness.”
Just like with the previous recent holidays, Moore encouraged the community to limit its gatherings for New Year’s celebrations. He said his family is foregoing its usual larger New Year’s Day gathering at his sister’s house since a number of his family members are in the age range at high risk for COVID, and recommended the best way to celebrate is to gather only with those living in the same household.
“It doesn’t have to be a lot of people getting together for someone to get COVID,” Moore said. “There’s a light at the end of the tunnel, but we don’t have this virus tamed yet. Celebrating differently this year can mean that more of you will be together to celebrate next year.”
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