Covid numbers continue to decline in Elkhart County

ELKHART COUNTY, Ind.--- Elkhart County, which was once considered a hotspot for Coronavirus, has continued to see it's positivity rate decline in recent months. The county currently sits in the "yellow" Covid metric with a positivity rate of 5.7 percent based on the latest numbers from the state health department.

"Our numbers are looking better. Our positivity rate continues to go down," said Elkhart County Health Officer Dr. Bethany Wait. "It’s the lowest we’ve seen since March of 2020."

Business owners say they're glad to know the sacrifices made throughout the county have been paying off.

"The sacrifice that you make, the protocols you put in place, the work that you do to keep the place safe makes a difference and it feels good to know that we’re actually making a difference," said Myron Bontrager, Owner of The Electric Brew in Goshen.

Bontrager credits the collaborative countywide efforts to adhere to safety protocols as a huge reason why the numbers have continued to dip. 

"We’ve used the “Good of Goshen” phrase for a while now and this is part of the good of Goshen," said Bontrager. "We’ve been doing some good things in actually getting this under control so it makes me feel good, makes me feel proud."

While numbers have trended in the right direction recently, Wait says she's still worried about a possible resurgence if the county eases restrictions too early. 

"When we reached stage five, when the masks came off and life went back to what we thought was somewhat usual and then you saw our numbers spike and spike very high," said Wait.