Marshall County raises to

after the latest update from the Indiana Department of Health, Marshall County has been raised to the yel

low metric category and moved to a yellow advisory level while Starke County stays in the yellow metric and advisory level classification. These movements were based on the 7-day positivity rates and cases per 100,000 residents in each community.

Because the executive order related to COVID19 restrictions expired earlier this week, the color-coded county metrics and advisory level classifications are now recommendations rather than state mandated guidelines.

As a reminder, a blue advisory level reflects minimal community spread. It indicates that up to 250 individuals are permitted to attend gatherings and events can take place at up to 100 percent of facility capacity.

A yellow advisory level means there is moderate community spread. Under this level, social gatherings and events are limited to 100 people and individuals can not exceed 50 percent of facility capacity.

General requirements, such as social distancing, wearing face coverings while around others, and practicing hand hygiene are necessary, regardless of a county’s metric classification or advisory level.

The advisory level and metric classification maps are updated ever Wednesday at noon while the Indiana Department of Health’s COVID-19 dashboard which tracks cases, deaths and testing data is updated daily. The information provided below is as of Wednesday, April 7.

In Marshall County, 17 new COVID-19 cases were recorded within the last week, bringing the total number of cases up to 5,668.

In Starke County, 4 new COVID-19 cases were recorded within the last week, bringing the total number of cases to 1,971.