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Additional restrictions on COVID-19 are in place for Hamilton County after the Indiana Department of Health on Jan.6 classified it as red under its advisory level to determine community spread of the disease.
The state requires that counties classified as red:
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Limit social gatherings to 25 people, with no exceptions from the local health department
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Limit participation in recreational sporting events to participants, required personnel, parents, guardians, siblings, spouses and minor children of participants or staff
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Allow indoor dining, but encourage businesses to promote curbside pickup or online ordering
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Suggest that K-12 school officials review and reassess their plans based on recommendations from the Ministry of Education and IDOH
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Suspend activities in senior centers
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Allow hospitals, long-term care and other collective facilities to impose visitation limits.
Counties designated as red have 200 or more weekly cases per 100,000 population and a seven-day positivity rate of 15 percent or more.
“Unfortunately, the new designation is not a huge surprise,” Jason LeMaster, interim administrator of the Hamilton County Department of Health, said in a press release. “Our local positivity rate has been fluctuating near the 15% threshold for days and we are only now seeing the increasing number of cases during the holiday season.”
The county must meet the orange level parameters for two consecutive weeks before it can revert to this designation. Counties classified as orange have a weekly COVID-19 case count of 100 to 199 per 100,000 population and a seven-day positivity rate of 10 to 14.9 percent.
“This means Hamilton County will remain in RED for at least the next three weeks.” LeMaster said. “The only way to turn the tide is to reduce our numbers, so we ask the community to be extremely vigilant. Wash your hands. Social distance. Avoid indoor gatherings and get tested if you think you’ve been exposed to the virus. We all have the power to right this ship.
View the state’s COVID-19 dashboard and designations for all counties on coronavirus.in.gov.
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