Staff Reports
INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana State Department of Health is reporting that Bartholomew County has had four deaths attributed to COVID-19, with the county reporting 55 positive tests.
The Bartholomew County Health Department said 640 tests have been administered with 55 positive results. There have been 429 negative test results and 113 results are pending, local health officials said.
At the end of March, hospital officials reported that four Columbus Regional Health employees, including one Columbus Regional Hospital physician, and three staff members, tested positive for COVID-19. On Tuesday, Columbus Regional Hospital spokeswoman Kelsey DeClue said there are now 15 CRH employees who have tested positive for COVID-19. Those employees include staff and physicians.
Also on Tuesday, there are currently nine patients hospitalized at CRH, with five listed in stable condition, two listed as critical stable and two listed in critical, DeClue said.
Three of the deaths that have occurred in Bartholomew County occurred on Saturday and Sunday, with the fourth death occurring on Monday, DeClue said.
The number of positives of Bartholomew County residents may include testing that was conducted out of county. Conversely, the number of total tests may also include submissions for non-Bartholomew County residents. The counts listed for positives and deaths below is only for Bartholomew County residents.
An additional 568 Hoosiers have been diagnosed with COVID-19 through testing at ISDH, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and private laboratories. That brings to 5,507 the total number of Indiana residents known to have the novel coronavirus following corrections to the previous day’s total.
A total of 173 Hoosiers have died to date. Deaths are reported based on when data are received by ISDH and occurred over multiple days.
To date, 28,764 tests have been reported to ISDH, up from 26,192 on Monday.
Updates on area counties include:
Shelby County: 51 positive tests, no deaths, administered 228 tests.
Decatur County: 90 positive tests, six deaths, administered 139 tests.
Jennings County: 41 positive tests, no deaths, administered 78 tests.
Jackson County: 40 positive tests, no deaths, administered 145 tests.
Marion County had the most new cases, at 193. Other counties with more than 10 new cases were Allen (12), Clark (11), Floyd (16), Hamilton (22), Hancock (14), Harrison (11), Hendricks (27), Johnson (19), Lake (52), Madison (34) and St. Joseph (17). The Lake County totals include results from East Chicago and Gary, which have their own health departments.
The complete list of counties with cases is included in the ISDH COVID-19 dashboard at coronavirus.in.gov.
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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 have acknowledged 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 daily from 7 a.m. to 8 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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Visit the Community COVID-19 Task Force’s website at covid19communitytaskforce.org for local information.
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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 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 available seven days a week, 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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For more information about COVID-19, including a list of frequently asked questions, visit in.gov/coronavirus.
Visit the Indiana State Department of Health in.gov/isdh/ or follow us on Twitter at @StateHealthIN and on Facebook at facebook.com/StateHealthIN.
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For a list of closing and cancellations, see Page C3.
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