COLUMBUS, Ind. — Coronavirus cases have been declining at long-term care facilities and among the elderly in Bartholomew County in recent weeks, mirroring trends seen across the country that health officials are largely attributing to vaccinations.
At least 508 residents of Bartholomew County’s long-term care facilities have caught COVID-19 and 107 residents have died since the Indiana State Department of Health started reporting deaths and cases by facility in July.
However, the overall trend for long-term care residents has been improving over the past month, with no new cases recorded at long-term care facilities in Bartholomew County since Feb. 5, according to the Indiana State Department of Health.
Additionally, confirmed cases among the elderly in Bartholomew County have markedly declined in recent weeks, state records show.
In the past month, there have been three confirmed COVID-19 cases among local residents age 80 and up, including just one case recorded since Feb. 19, and six cases among residents age 70 to 79.
By comparison, there were 44 cases among residents age 80 and up from Nov. 19 to Dec. 19, and 82 confirmed cases among residents age 70 to 79.
The drop in confirmed cases has coincided with vaccination efforts targeting those age groups.
For more on this story, see Friday’s Republic.
