Columbus Regional Hospital saw an increase in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 this past week, including reaching a peak of 12 on Thursday, as state health officials continue to report record numbers of new coronavirus cases in Indiana.
On Friday morning, there were 10 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 at CRH and an additional three patients hospitalized with symptoms consistent with COVID-19, but still awaiting test results, the hospital said. Last Friday, there were two patients hospitalized with the virus.
Two of the 10 patients hospitalized on Friday are in critical condition, hospital officials said. The other eight are listed in stable condition or stable-critical condition, officials said.
Bartholomew County Health Officer Dr. Brian Niedbalski said he is continuing to monitor local hospitalizations, but is not yet ready to call the increase in hospitalizations — the second one in the past month — a sustained trend.
“We continue to keep a close eye on hospitalizations, along with several other indicators, to monitor local activity of COVID-19,” Niedbalski said. “While the number of hospitalizations is higher over the last few days, I am not calling it a trend just yet.”
The increase in local hospitalizations came as confirmed infections in the U.S. topped 4.7 million this week, with new cases running at more than 60,000 a day, The Associated Press reported. While that’s down from a peak of well over 70,000 in the second half of July, cases are on the rise in 26 states, many in the South and West, and deaths are climbing in 35 states.
On average, the number of COVID-19 deaths per day in the U.S. over the past two weeks has gone from about 780 to 1,056, according to an The Associated Press analysis.
In Indiana, COVID-19 hospitalizations have been steadily increasing in recent weeks, surpassing 1,000 on Wednesday for the first time since May 31, according to the Indiana State Department of Health. There were 595 people hospitalized with the virus in Indiana on June 26.
The increase in local hospitalizations this week was the second such spike at CRH over the past month. After hovering between two to five patients from mid-June to mid-July, the hospital saw a similar increase between July 14 and July 22, when hospitalizations increased from two to 12 before briefly declining.
The upward trend, however, is still lower than the peak of 20 patients hospitalized in late April.
Niedbalski said he doesn’t think the increase in local hospitalizations changes Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp.’s plans to open schools on Monday. Hospitalizations are one of several factors taken into consideration when deciding whether to hold in-person instruction, he said.
Other factors include per capita infection rate, tests percent positive, activity in surrounding communities, among others.
As of Wednesday, the local per capita positivity rate was 6.8, down from 10.3 on July 30 and below the thresholds for “substantial” or “moderate” community spread, according to BCSC’s website. The percent positivity rate was 6.7% as of this past Saturday, which is also below the same thresholds and down from 7.8% on July 29.
“I don’t feel that this changes the plans to open schools in any way,” Niedbalski said. “Mask wearing is mandated in schools, and I feel this will be the primary protection against the spread of COVID-19, along with proper hygiene, and physical distancing as much as possible while in school buildings.”
