Indiana State Dept. of Health Color-coded County Map
Lake County reported over 11,000 new virus cases in the last 30 days
Contributed By:The 411 News
The county turned red along with 20 other Indiana counties
As predicted by health experts when the COVID-19 pandemic settled in the nation in March, the virus would slow during the summer months and come back much stronger in the later part of the year as the weather cooled. And that is where we are now with exponential increases in virus infections.
Lake County has reported 24,508 positive cases since March. Over 11,000 of those cases came in the last 30 days.
Early data collections on the virus focused on total numbers of infections and deaths across the state to describe the spread of the virus and government leaders responded with a statewide lockdown, ordering schools and non-essential businesses to close.
Today, the focus is on how individual counties are being affected by the virus with responses designed to limit the spread in each county. A state lockdown is not in effect and businesses will remain open.
Indiana's State Health Dept. introduced the color-coded county map in late September to help determine its response to the virus and also show the public how the virus is spreading across the state. View the map and more information at https://www.in.gov/coronavirus. Click the Indiana COVID-19 Dashboard and Map tab to go directly to the Indiana COVID-19 Data Report.
Local school districts are using the data to decide whether or not to keep schools open. Today, most schools in Lake County are on virtual or remote learning.
Every county on the map is displayed in 1 of four colors – blue, yellow, orange, or red – with its corresponding county score. The map is updated weekly.
A county score between zero and 0.5 allows operations to continue without restrictions and signifies the spread of COVID-19 is minimal. A county with these scores would be colored blue.
Scores equal to or greater than 1 mean the COVID-19 spread continues and the level of restrictions increase as the county score nears the maximum score of three. Counties with these scores will have yellow, orange, and red colors.
Lake County's color was blue when the color-coded county map was introduced on September 26. Now it is red, like 20 other counties in the state. Today, no counties are blue; 1 county is yellow; and the remainder of Indiana's 92 counties are in orange.
Lake County’s color was orange when Gov. Eric Holcomb issued the November 11th executive order targeting counties in orange and red. The order went into effect November 15, limiting the number of people at social gatherings and restricting the number of people allowed to enter businesses based on occupancy limits and each business' ability to maintain 6-feet of social distancing.
Now that Lake County is red, social gatherings are limited to 25 people.
Gary and East Chicago are the only 2 cities in Lake County with health departments and they also report COVID-19 data.
As of November 15, the Gary Health Department reported 2,605 positive cases since the pandemic began in March. For the week of November 9 to November 15, Gary reported 337 new cases.
Visit www.gary.gov and click on the “Coronavirus (COVID-19) How to Protect Yourself” banner to see Gary's response to the virus.
As of November 18th, the East Chicago Health Department reported 1,793 positive cases since the pandemic began. For the week of November 7 through 13, East Chicago reported 183 new cases.
To see East Chicago's response to the virus, visit https://in-eastchicago.civicplus.com/375/CovidNovel-Coronavirus-Information
As of Nov. 18, the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) reported 275,503 cases of the coronavirus have been diagnosed since the pandemic began in March; 4,889 Hoosiers have died.
As of Nov. 18, Lake County reported a total of 24,508 positive cases with 430 deaths.
View Indiana’s entire Coronavirus Response Requirements, Nov. 15 to Dec. 12 here
Story Posted:11/19/2020
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