Indiana has now passed 12 thousand deaths from COVID-19.

There were 44 new deaths added to the Indiana State Department of Health tally Tuesday, dating back to Dec. 1st. That brings the total to 12,025.

In our area, Johnson County reported a single death in yesterday’s report, the only surrounding county to record a death.

All of our area counties are currently showing a moderate spread of the disease and are yellow on the state’s color coded map. However Bartholomew, Johnson, Decatur and Jackson counties all remain under the orange, or serious spread advisory level. Counties much remain at a lower 7-day score for two consecutive weeks to move down to a lower advisory level.

State officials are opening up eligibility for COVID-19 vaccines to people who are between 60 and 64. There are nearly 432,000 people between those ages in the state, and nearly 91,000 of them have already made vaccine appointments. Anyone older than 64 has already been eligible.