Allen, Huntington Counties are in the red, leaving officials concerned

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WPTA) - Allen County and Huntington County are now in the red on the state’s “county metrics map,” which indicates the highest level of community spread.

These two counties joined many other northeast Indiana counties on that list and doctors are worried these numbers will go up during the holidays.

“We certainly have seen Indiana be one of the major states for spread, infections and hospitalizations,” Huntington County Health Officer Dr. Matthew Pflieger said.

The latest county metric map shows a handful of northeast Indiana counties in the red and others one step below in the orange.

“We’re still in a rough couple weeks and we can go through that two ways and as a community we’re choosing to deal with it and put the burden on the health care system,” Pflieger said.

Allen County Health Commissioner Dr. Matthew Sutter agrees and is concerned about the next several weeks.

“The hospitals are strained right now,” Sutter said. “Last week they told me they were gravely concerned, we’ve not seen the top of this curve yet.”

Sutter and Pflieger are both holding back on adding restrictions and urge everyone to roll up their sleeves.

“The vaccines remain safe and effective,” Sutter said. “We have now given hundreds of millions of doses.”

You can book your COVID-19 vaccine appointment on the state’s website and you can call 211.

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