Indiana COVID-19: 81 of Indiana's 92 counties considered in 'high' or 'substantial' spread categories by CDC

Posted: Aug 2, 2021 / 01:46 PM EDT

Updated: Aug 2, 2021 / 01:51 PM EDT

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INDIANAPOLIS – Eighty-one of Indiana’s 92 counties now fall under the “high” or “substantial” risk categories for COVID-19 spread, meaning the CDC recommends wearing masks in those areas.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s updated map shows more counties in red or orange compared to a week ago. The current map, last updated Saturday, showed 56 counties in red, 25 in orange and 11 in yellow.

Last week, 40 Indiana counties were red, 25 were in orange, 25 were in yellow and 2 were in blue.

The red counties represent “high” spread, the orange counties represent “substantial” spread and the yellow counties represent “moderate” spread. Unlike last week, no Indiana counties are in blue in this weekend’s update.

Comparison from last week to this week (images via CDC)

“High transmission” means an area has seen more than 100 cases per 100,000 over a 7-day period. The CDC classified “substantial transmission” as meaning there have been 50-100 cases per 100,000 over a 7-day period.

The agency is recommending that people who live red or orange counties—that’s about 88% of Indiana—wear masks indoors regardless of their vaccination status.