Coronavirus: 4 things to know about Vanderburgh County going into the 'orange' | Webb

It sounds bad. But what does it mean?

Like I’m sure it did for a lot of people, that question pinged through my head on Wednesday when the Indiana State Health Department upgraded the COVID-19 risk in Vanderburgh and Warrick counties to “orange.”

Vaguely reminiscent of George Bush’s old “terror alert” chart, it’s part of the color-coded system Indiana unveiled in early September to track the coronavirus’ spread in each county. The tiers stretch in ascending order from blue to yellow to orange to red.

Orange means “moderate to high community spread.”  

More:Vanderburgh, Warrick in 'orange' as rate of COVID-19 spread continues to increase: ISDH

Vanderburgh, Warrick, Spencer and Brown are the only four counties in the state to earn the designation. As of now, no county is in the red.

So what does this mean for our area? How will it affect your life?

Here are some things to know.

Why are we in the ‘orange’?

The system is based on two slabs of data: the 7-day percent of positive COVID-19 tests; and rate of positive cases per 100,000 people.

According to the state coronavirus dashboard, Vanderburgh’s positivity rate hovered at a respectable 5 percent as of Wednesday. We earned our jump to "orange" through a spike in the number of positive cases. That figure hovered near 220 – about as high as the state measurements go.

Without the decent positivity rate, our case numbers would have been high enough, on their own, to shove Vanderburgh into the red.

What does this mean for schools?

The state created the color system to help schools decide when to shift from in-person instruction to some kind of virtual or hybrid model.

According to state guidelines, school systems in “orange” counties (not Orange County) can continue conducting in-person classes for elementary school students. But they're “strongly recommended” to consider hybrid or virtual learning for middle schools and high schools.

Evansville Vanderburgh School Corp. spokesman Jason Woebkenberg wouldn’t say if the EVSC is ready to take such a move. He just said school leaders are in constant talks with local and state health officials.

“We will continue to take all options into consideration moving forward as we analyze the data in Vanderburgh County and in schools,” he said Wednesday.

Until Thursday, the public had no idea what the “data in schools” look like.

During a virtual town hall on Monday, EVSC superintendent David Smith said he’s “very confident” COVID-19 isn’t spreading through its buildings. But the EVSC had repeatedly refused to provide the number of positive cases in each school.

Their reasoning – that they don’t want to violate HIPAA – didn't hold water since no one is asking for patients' names.

That information finally became public when Indiana unveiled a map tracking coronavirus cases in schools across the state. The largest chunk of local cases came in high schools, while many schools reported few or no cases.

Meanwhile, several area schools have gone virtual as COVID-19 cases continue to climb. Memorial High School returned from a virtual week on Monday, just as Princeton High School started one. COVID also axed Boonville's next two football games.

More:COVID-19 cases in Vanderburgh County schools revealed in new state map

More:Coronavirus: The EVSC has been secretive during the pandemic | Webb

More:Boonville football cancels two games due to positive COVID-19 case

More:Memorial students to return to class as North Posey, Princeton Community go virtual

What does this mean for sports?

Speaking of football …

In August, the Vanderburgh County Health Department said every local football game would be limited to 500 fans. The IHSAA gave the EVSC permission to bump that to 750 earlier this month.

But during Gov. Eric Holcomb’s weekly coronavirus update on Wednesday, state health commissioner Dr. Kris Box said counties in the orange should consider limiting attendance at sporting events.

Maybe we could slash spectators to parents-only, she said. Or perhaps we could ditch the crowds altogether and only allow players and coaches inside the stadium. 

On Thursday, EVSC athletics director Andy Owen told the Courier & Press attendance limits would again lower to 500.

What about hospitals?

Deaconess president Dr. James Porter told the Courier & Press Wednesday that his hospitals are seeing their biggest wave of patients since the pandemic kicked off in March.

Like local and state officials, he blamed the spike on everything from Labor Day barbecues to rampant spread in nursing homes. And he implored people to keep wearing masks and taking precautions.

More:Evansville area officials ponder next steps as area's COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations surge

That could become even more crucial in the next few weeks. The flu is set to collide with COVID, possibly leading to increased hospitalizations and yet another boom in positive cases.

And, possibly, a trip to the red.

Contact columnist Jon Webb at jon.webb@courierpress.com.