Elkhart County health officials give COVID update

ELKHART COUNTY, Ind. –COVID-19 numbers in Elkhart County have been increasing for the last two to three weeks. Elkhart County Health Officer said hospitals in the area are worried about bed capacity and staff safety.

The problem goes deeper than just dealing with a lot of patients. In the past weeks, Elkhart General Hospital has hired security guards. Since doctors, staff, and health providers have been dealing with violence and aggression in their lobby.

They’re also understaffed, and workers are stressed with the number of people they’re treating.

County Health Officer Dr. Bethany Wait said more people are getting tested, to the tune of 200 people per day. And of that number, there’s a sixteen to twenty percent positivity rate.

Dr. Wait said those numbers will likely continue to go up. Hospitals are worried, not only about running out of bed space but also about having enough workers.

“They describe themselves as in dire need of induvial to help take care of the patients that we do have,” Dr. Wait said. “For every unvaccinated individual that comes into the hospital, that’s a bed we can use for somebody else.”

Dr. Wait said individuals 30 to 39 and kids 19 and younger are more likely to test positive for COVID-19.