State health officials reported nine new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, including the first confirmed case of the virus in Jennings County, raising the statewide total to 39 patients.
Marion County is reporting the largest number of cases, 11, with one death. Hendricks County has reported four cases. Lake County has reported three cases. Johnson County has also reported three cases with one death.
Counties with two reported cases were Franklin, Hamilton and Howard
Counties with one reported case included Jennings, Adams, Bartholomew, Boone, Clark, Fayette, Floyd, Madison, Noble, St. Joseph and Wells.
Two deaths have been reported, one each in Marion and Johnson counties, both adults over the age of 60, according to state health officials.
No new cases of COVID-19 were reported in Bartholomew County on Wednesday.
As of late Tuesday, 193 people had been tested for the coronavirus in Indiana, the state health department said.
The number of COVID-19 cases have continued to rise, with more than 200,000 cases reported globally, including more than 7,000 in the United States.
The reports of Jennings County’s first COVID-19 case came as Jennings County officials announced that county and North Vernon public offices are now closed to the public in response to the first positive case of COVID-19 in the county.
The Jennings County Health Department recommended the measure to the county commissioners on Wednesday, which approved the order before offices opened, health department office administrator Peggy Roe said.
All Jennings County offices will continue to operate under regular hours despite not allowing walk-ins. Roe said that offices will work with the public as best they can, and that they can be reached by phone. Phone numbers are posted on office doors and can also be found at jenningscounty-in.gov.
Roe said public offices will remain closed until more guidance is given by the state. She said that Jennings County is following the lead of other counties that have also reported positive coronavirus cases.
North Vernon Mayor Mike Ochs has closed all city buildings except for emergency purposes. Each North Vernon department head is deciding hours and what circumstances will require offices to be open.
City council meetings will be expedited in that non-essential matters are suspended until further notice and only matters requiring payment of claims and exigent circumstances will be considered at city meetings.
All North Vernon-sponsored athletic and sports activities through the park department, including the golf leagues, are hereby suspended until further notice, Ochs announced. All North Vernon-sponsored events which are of a social nature and non-essential have also been canceled, Ochs said.
Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill said Wednesday that his office’s Consumer Protection Division has begun accepting price-gouging complaints from the public in accordance with an executive order Gov. Eric Holcomb issued Monday. Complaints about people or businesses charging excessive prices for consumer goods can be submitted using an online form for that can be found at indianaconsumer.com.
Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group announced Wednesday that it was closing its roughly 200 U.S. malls, premium outlets and mills from 7 p.m. Wednesday through March 29 “in recognition of the need to address the spread of COVID-19.” This includes the Edinburgh Outlet Mall near Columbus.
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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 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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To see the latest list of closing and cancellations, see Page A3.
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Local residents 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, CRH officials said.
The phone resource line can be contacted at 812-379-4449 and is open 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.
Visit crh.org/news/2020/03/16/coronavirus-update-what-you-need-to-know for more information.
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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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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.
For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. According to the World Health Organization, people with mild illness recover in about two weeks, while those with more severe illness may take three to six weeks to recover.
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