Vaccine distribution is ramping up in Brown County, with 665 residents receiving one dose so far as of Jan. 18.
At this time, Hoosiers 70 and older and those working in health care and law enforcement are able to receive it. A list of job titles eligible and a map of vaccine distribution statistics across the state are posted at coronavirus.in.gov/vaccine. The site is updated daily at noon.
Virus spread continues across the state and Brown County. On Jan. 20, the state health department placed most Indiana counties under “red” status, including Brown County for the ninth week in a row.
Under red restrictions, no gatherings are to take place of more than 25 people and they aren’t advised to happen at all.
Regardless of what a county’s color code is, throughout public places in Indiana it’s still required that you wear a face covering and keep a distance of at least six feet between yourself and someone not in your household.
From Tuesday, Jan. 12 to Monday, Jan. 18, 18 new COVID-19 cases were found in Brown County residents. That gain over a week’s time is slower than it’s been since the first week of November. Two new deaths also were recorded, taking the county’s total to 30.
School schedules are still being adjusted. Helmsburg Elementary students returned to the building on Jan. 13 from being put on all-virtual “red” status the night of Jan. 7, but were only able to have in-person school for one day. The whole building went back to red on Jan. 14 for rest of the week.
A school goes directly to red status when more than 20 percent of a building’s population is out due to active exposure to a person with COVID-19, because they are awaiting test results, or because they have tested positive for COVID-19.
If a school has 11 to 15 of its students or staff out with COVID-19 symptoms, the school goes to the “yellow” hybrid plan, with half of the students in the building at one time and the other half on remote learning, alternating schedules every other school day.
As of Jan. 15, the plan was to bring all students in all schools back on the “green,” in-person plan on Tuesday, Jan. 19. Students were off on Monday, Jan. 18 due to Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
“As with all of our response protocols during the pandemic, should this decision prove to not be a good one, we will readjust,” said a message to parents from the superintendent sent Friday afternoon.
Parents can keep tabs on how their school is doing each day in terms of symptoms, absences and confirmed COVID-19 cases at browncountyschools.com/covid-19-updates under “daily metric report.”
