County returns to orange level in COVID rating

With a falling positivity rate, Putnam County returned to an orange rating on the Indiana State Department of Health weekly COVID metrics released Wednesday.

The seven-day positivity rate for the week ending Jan. 18 stood at 13.07 percent, below the 15 percent mark that would have kept Putnam County rated as a red county.

The county’s weekly cases per 100,000 residents stood at 409, still more than twice the 200 that places counties in the highest level for that particular rating.

In falling below the state’s highest alert level, Putnam County joined most of the state — 57 counties — in the orange category. Meanwhile, 34 others are rated as red, while just one — Jay County on the Ohio border — is rated as yellow.

As of numbers released by ISDH Thursday, 2,920 Putnam County residents have been diagnosed with COVID-19, while 49 have died in the pandemic.