The State of the City will be held this week.
Jim Inman Photo: https://www.facebook.com/citybloomington
Mayor John Hamilton will present his State of the City Address this Thursday.
In a press release from the City of Bloomington, Mayor Hamilton will be giving his address at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater on Thursday, February 24 at 7:00 pm. The event is free and open to the public. Doors will open at 6:00 pm.
The address will also be streamed live on the City of Bloomington Facebook page.
The press release said the event will include work from local artists, live music and a video presentation.
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Indiana continues to show decreases in COVID-19 cases.
On Monday, the Indiana Department of Health reported that hospitalizations across the state dropped below 1,100 for the first time since August 2021.
In testing across the state, 99.2% of the samples had the omicron variant of the virus. The remaining 0.8% had the delta variant.
The state’s seven-day positivity rate is now 9.7%. On Friday the positivity rate was 12.2%
Locally, Monroe County’s seven-day positivity rate is now 10.1% – a decrease from 13.3% on Friday.
With the news that cases are decreasing, a new variant of COVID is raising eyebrows among health professionals.
The virus, known as BA.2, is a highly contagious strain of the omicron variant that appears to spread more easily than omicron.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that BA.2 has been found across the United States and accounts for approximately 3.9% of all new infections. The CDC said the variant appearing to be doubling quickly.
According to NBC News, the BA.2 variant has spread across Asia, South Africa and Denmark. However, the United States has not seen the same impact.
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Avian flu continues to impact poultry farms across Indiana.
Over the last month three cases have been discovered – two in Dubois County and a third in Greene County.
A fourth case has been detected in another Greene County farm, according to the Indiana State Board of Animal Health. Testing will determine if the virus is the same as the three other farms.
More than 100,000 birds have been euthanized in the last month to minimize the spread of avian influenza. The virus is deadly to the animals once infected.
The Indiana State Board of Animal Health said the avian virus does not present an immediate public health concern.
