EMA DIRECTOR SAYS COVID NUMBERS CONTINUE TO GET WORSE

During the Indiana County Commissioners meeting this morning, Indiana County’s Emergency Management director said that Covid-19 numbers continue to get worse.

Director Tom Stutzman reported that based on PA Department of Health statistics, the county is experiencing on average 18 new cases a day over the last two weeks.  He also reported a 14.29 percent increase in ICU patients at Indiana Regional Medical Center.  He also reported the CDC’s vaccination stats, which show 45 percent of Indiana County’s vaccine-eligible population (12 years of age or older) have been fully vaccinated.  Stutzman also reported three new deaths over the last week, and Stutzman said the death rate has doubled from the summer of last year.

Stutzman and the Commissioners encourage those who are able to receive a vaccine to get one.

In other business, the commissioners approved contract modifications for Indiana Borough’s 2016 and 2017 Community Development Block Grant money.  The modifications delete the South 15^th Street storm sewer project from both years and reallocates funding to the South 7^th Street Storm Sewer Project.  As part of that, $166,000 from the 2021 CDBG funds were allocated to the South 15^th Street project.