Coronavirus hits home: First case confirmed in Bartholomew County

Bartholomew County health officials have announced the first confirmed local case of the new type of coronavirus that has infected nearly 175,000 people globally and killed at least 6,700.

Columbus Regional Hospital officials said Monday they received confirmation Sunday night at around 8:30 p.m. that an adult patient who was in isolation at Columbus Regional Hospital had tested positive for COVID-19, the illness caused by the new coronavirus.

Health officials said they believe the individual likely acquired COVID-19 via community spread, as the patient had not traveled to known high-risk areas or knowingly been in contact with someone who had tested positive for the illness.

Health officials are still investigating if the patient had traveled outside of Bartholomew County or attended any large events in the past couple of weeks, said Dr. Brian Niedbalski, Bartholomew County Health Officer and CRH physician.

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As of Monday morning, the patient was still in isolation and in stable condition, but their symptoms were significant enough to require hospital admission, CRH 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 levels 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.”

The confirmation of the first local COVID-19 case comes the number of cases of the virus continue to rise around the world — including the United States and Indiana — prompting the World Health Organization to declare a pandemic Wednesday.

On Monday, the Indiana State Department of Health reported five new cases of the coronavirus in the state, raising the total to 24.

There has been one confirmed case reported in Adams, Bartholomew, Boone, Floyd, Hamilton, LaPorte, Noble, St Joseph and Wells counties, according to ISDH. Seven cases have been reported in Marion County, three in Hendricks and Johnson counties and two in Howard County.

At least 3,800 cases of the virus have been reported in the United States, according to the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center.

CRH has tested around 35 people for COVID-19, but are still awaiting results on several of them, Crowder said. Three to five of the tests were done through the Indiana State Department of Health, while the other have been submitted to LabCorp, a private lab CRH contracts with, Crowder said.

“We’ve done about 35 total tests,” Crowder said. “The ones through LabCorp have about a three-day turnaround, so we have a lot of tests that are pending.”

Shortage of testing supplies

Federal officials are scrambling to broaden testing for the coronavirus with a flurry of new measures, and public confusion persisted over who should be tested and how to get checked for the disease, The Associated Press reported.

President Donald Trump declared a national emergency last week after one of the government’s top health officials called the initial testing effort “a failing” and health care professionals, politicians and patients across the country complained about lack of access to testing, according to wire reports.

Trump and senior staffers laid out a new testing strategy on Friday designed to screen hundreds of thousands of Americans at drive-thru centers based around major retail chains, though it is unclear when those efforts would take effect.

Countries including South Korea and Germany have been using that approach for weeks, allowing people to quickly provide a throat or nasal swab for testing without leaving their cars, according to The Associated Press.

Vice President Mike Pence told reporters Friday that the United States can currently test 15,000 to 20,000 patients per day, but added that the number would increase “very soon,” according to wire reports.

Locally, CRH officials acknowledged on Monday that there is a “shortage of testing supplies” and said relatively healthy people with a low fever and cough and who are “not that sick” would likely be advised to stay at home and not seek medical attention.

However, people with symptoms such as shortness of breath or risk factors such as being older than 60 and/or having a compromised immune system should seek medical care and let their physician decide if a test will help direct their care.

Anyone with concerns is urged to call the health system’s Triage Resource Call Center, a phone resource line launched by CRH last week to handle calls from residents with questions and concerns about exposure or symptoms associated with COVID-19.

The phone line is open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and is staffed by registered nurses who will offer screening questions and potentially recommend a course of action for patients, said CRH spokeswoman Kelsey DeClue.

The phone resource line can be contacted at 812-379-4449.

“It is true that there is a shortage of testing supplies,” Crowder said. “There are two paths for testing, one through the (Indiana State Department of Health). They’ve recommended limiting testing to hospitalized patients, healthcare workers who are symptomatic and residents of nursing homes and prisons. That was there their guidance. Now, we can have a second pathway for testing through LabCorp, but there’s limited transport media and swabs and some of the materials needed. Therefore, our advice is for relatively healthy people, so a 30-year-old with a fever and cough and not that sick, we’re recommending not to come in (to a healthcare facility). If you have questions, call our hotline. Most of those people would be directed to stay home. We’re recommending people with symptoms such as shortness of breath or risk factors such as age over 60, history of (compromised immune systems), we recommend those people seek care and a physician will decide if a test will help direct their care.”

Local government response

In response to the growing outbreak of coronavirus in Indiana, the city of Columbus and Bartholomew County recommended on Monday that all enclosed public places close and urged restaurants and bars to limit in-person service after local health officials announced the first confirmed case of the new coronavirus in Columbus.

Columbus Mayor Jim Lienhoop, who was joined by Bartholomew County Commissioner Carl Lienhoop and other local officials in a telephone press conference on Monday, urged restaurants and other businesses to promote take-out, drive-thru or delivery options; churches to reconsider meeting; and for the community to follow new guidelines from the federal Centers for Disease Control that recommend cancelling or postponing in-person events that consist of 50 people or more for the next eight weeks.

“We also recommend the closing of any enclosed public places and encouraging restaurants and bars to convert to take-out, drive-thru or delivery options,” Mayor Lienhoop said. As a community, we’ll take whatever measures are possible to prevent further spread of the virus. We realize these actions pose an inconvenience to many businesses and members of our community, but difficult decisions such as this are taken with the utmost care and concern for our citizens, for our healthcare system as it continues to prioritize medical care and medical resources to best handle the situation.”

In a press conference Monday, Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb ordered bars and restaurants to limit service to drive thru or takeout, following the direction of several other states who already instituted that action, New York State, New Jersey and Connecticut, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Massachusetts and Washington State. New York City has also issued that directive.

CRH officials said they are urging local residents to practice social distancing, and to be prepared and cautious.

“These (closing) decisions are being made out of a concern and caution that community spread of the virus is now at a significant level. …Sustained social distancing is the key approach to help reduce the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Dramatically reducing in-person, face-to-face interaction is a key to reducing this spread. You should ask yourself, ‘Is there a reason we have to meet in person or face to face to have this discussion? Please consider utilizing methods of communication and interaction other than face-to-face interactions,” said Thomas Sonderman, CRH vice president and chief medical officer.

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Federal officials are scrambling to broaden testing for the coronavirus after one of the government’s top health officials called the initial testing effort “a failing” and health care professionals, politicians and patients across the country complained about lack of access to testing, according to The Associated Press.

CRH officials acknowledged on Monday that there is a “shortage of testing supplies” and said relatively healthy people with a low fever and cough and are not that sick would likely be advised to stay at home and not seek medical attention.

However, people with symptoms such as shortness of breath or risk factors such as being older than 60 and/or having a compromised immune system should seek medical care and let their physician decide if a test will help direct their care.

Anyone with concerns are urged to call the health system’s Triage Resource Call Center, a phone resource line launched by CRH last week to handle calls from residents with questions and concerns about exposure or symptoms associated with COVID-19.

The phone line is open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and is staffed by registered nurses who will offer screening questions and potentially recommend a course of action for patients, said CRH spokeswoman Kelsey DeClue.

The phone resource line can be contacted at 812-379-4449.

Visit crh.org/news/2020/03/16/coronavirus-update-what-you-need-to-know for more information.

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Columbus and Bartholomew County officials have created a site on the Bartholomew County website where information will be shared about coronavirus, at bartholomew.in.gov/emergency-management.html#covid-19.

Visit www.crh.org/news/2020/03/12/coronavirus-update-what-you-need-to-know to learn more about Columbus Regional Health’s COVID-19 Triage Resource Call Center.

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At this time, the most effective way to protect yourself and your loves ones is to practice the following:

• Social distancing (avoid large public gatherings).
• Proper hand hygiene – washing your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds and using alcohol-based sanitizer as a secondary option.
• Covering cough.
• Not going in public if you are ill, especially if you have a fever.

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Spanish translation for city response to coronavirus