Werner: Do your part to slow the spread

With the increased number of Covid-19 cases in Dubois County over the past week, the Dubois County Health Department is urging residents to take the proper safety precautions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

“We cannot stress enough this pandemic is not over,” said interim administrative director Shawn Werner in an email. “Once again, we are asking all Dubois County residents and businesses to please do the right thing and start wearing your masks and social distancing.”

Since last Thursday, the health department has recorded 77 new cases of Covid-19 as well as the seventh death of a Dubois County resident.

According to Werner, a number of factors have contributed to the rise in cases.

“Individuals ignoring our recommendations to wear a mask, social distance, practice good hygiene and stay home when ill,” he explained. “You also have an increase in testing, social gatherings beginning to take place, and parties for the 4th of July were exactly two weeks ago!”

With the ease at which the virus is spread, it only takes one or two positive individuals to show up to these events to see the spikes in cases as a result.

Across the state, cities and counties are mandating mask usage. In Evansville, Mayor Lloyd Winnecke signed an executive order for mandatory mask usage that went into effect Wednesday and the city council is considering an ordinance designed to give the mandate some teeth.

According to the Indiana State Department of Health Covid-19 page, Dubois County has the second-highest number of cases at 370 [locally, the county has recorded 372 cases] in southwestern Indiana with Evansville being first with 963. Warrick County has the third-highest case count with 300 recorded cases.

The county has not decided to enact a mask mandate. According to Werner, Dubois County is currently following the governor’s guidance in regard to its response to the pandemic. He explained that several factors weigh in on making decisions on how to form public policy in response to the pandemic.

“We look at many things like the health care systems capacity to provide care, the number of individual hospitalized at any given time, the age range of the positive individuals, individuals with underlying health conditions, and also the number of new positive cases per day to determine the directions we need to take,” he explained.

“The recent spike is a cause for concern for what the future might hold,” he added.

Besides the social aspects and attitudes of residents towards the preventative measures being recommended, the easy access to two testing sites in the county — Memorial Hospital and OptumServe Health Services — likely contributes to the higher number of positives as testing numbers have increased.

OptumServe Health Services is contracted through the state to perform testing. They originally opened in the Jasper National Guard Armory but have since moved to Ruxer Golf Course at 400 S. Clay Street in Jasper. While Memorial requires patients to meeting a number of requirements outlined by the CDC for testing, Optum offers free testing for anyone who registers for an appointment online at https://lhi.care/covidtesting or for those without internet access at 888-634-1116.

Werner reiterated the two main methods of preventing the continued spread of the coronavirus.

“Once again, we are asking all Dubois County residents and businesses to please do the right thing and start wearing your masks and social distancing,” Werner said. “No matter what beliefs are, do it for the mother or father you just passed at the store who have a newborn baby at home, or the grandmother or grandfather that mean the world to you, do it for the co-worker standing next to you who might have underlying health conditions, do it for your kids who are the light of your world, and most of all do it for yourself, so you can honestly say I’ve done my part to help slow the spread.”