Starke County downgraded to "blue" Covid metric category

STARKE COUNTY, Ind.--- Starke County has been downgraded to Indiana's lowest Covid metric category. Wednesday Starke became the first county to reach the "blue" category on Indiana's Covid metric map.

Starke has a positivity rate of just under five percent according to the latest numbers given by the state health department.

"We get a lot of feedback from the higher ups in Starke County," said Jeanne Thompson-Hedger, Owner of Silverleaf Floral and Boutique in Knox. "They keep us informed and they always give a us a lot of hope that we can get through this."

Starke County only added 18 new positive Covid cases in the last week according to state health department data.

"We do all the sanitizing we’re expecting to do," said Rick Raab, General Manager of Five Star Grocery in Knox. "We do social distancing. We just follow all the rules."

If Starke can stay in the "blue" category for 14 consecutive days, gathering sizes would be able to increase from 100 people to 250 people. 

"There’s nothing we can’t get through, there’s nothing that we can’t march through that’s put in front of us," said Thompson-Hedger. "We’re going to climb up and over it and nobody’s going to keep us down not even Covid."

County health officials are still asking that the public be diligent in order to keep Covid numbers trending in the right direction.

"You still can’t think it’s a bullet proof vest and you’re going to a walk around and do whatever you want," said Frank Lynch, the Starke County Public Health Nurse, "You still have to distance, you still have to wear the masks."