THIS STORY WAS UPDATED AT 12:30 P.M.
INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana State Department of Health reports that Bartholomew County has one confirmed case of coronavirus.
Columbus Regional Hospital reported that Bartholomew County health officials were notified Sunday night of the positive test result from an adult patient at the hospital. Health officials are conducting the the appropriate investigative protocols, said Dr. Brian Niedbalski, County Health Officer.
This case appears to be a community-acquired spread, as the patient did not have travel history or a clinical contact link, Niedbalski said. The patient is in stable condition in an isolation room at the hospital, hospital officials said.
“While we’re continuing to investigate this patient’s history, the initial history indicated no known epidemiological risk factors such as travel or exposure to another COVID-19 patients,” said Dr. Slade Crowder, a CRH physician, during a press conference Monday morning. “So I think that raises evidence that we are in state of community spread, which should raise all of our level of caution, We are still doing our due diligence to go back and look again at this patient’s history, but initial indications was that there were no epidemiological risk factors.”
Around 35 people have been tested so far in Bartholomew County, hospital officials said. Some of those test results are not back, hospital officials said.
The update was sent at 10 a.m. this morning.
The hospital and the Bartholomew County Health Department conducted a media briefing at 11 a.m. and the story will be updated following that briefing.
The state health department reported this morning that there are 24 cases of confirmed coronavirus as of today in Indiana, from 139 people tested.
Counties with one case: Adams, Bartholomew, Boone, Floyd, Hamilton, LaPorte, Noble, St. Joseph and Wells.
Counties with multiple cases: Hendricks (3), Howard (2), Johnson (3), Marion (7).
For more on this story, see Tuesday’s Republic.
