Staff Reports
INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana State Department of Health announced Saturday that 537 additional 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 7,435 the total number of Indiana residents known to have the novel coronavirus following corrections to the previous day’s total. State officials said 537 additional cases were reported on Saturday.
State health officials said 39,215 Hoosiers have been tested.
A total of 300 Hoosiers have died to date. Deaths are reported based on when data are received by ISDH and occurred over multiple days.
Bartholomew County is reporting 108 positive cases with four deaths.
There have been 783 tests completed in Bartholomew County with 108 positives and 526 negatives, according to the Bartholomew County Health Department. There are 101 tests pending.
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 is only for Bartholomew County residents.
Surrounding counties statistics include:
Decatur County: 123 positive cases, 10 deaths
Jennings County: 54 positive cases, no deaths
Jackson County: 64 positive cases, no deaths
Brown County: 12 positive cases, one death
Shelby County: 68 positive cases, two deaths.
A list of counties with cases is included on the ISDH COVID-19 dashboard at coronavirus.in.gov.
In addition to the updated statistics, the state department of health announced that four communities will have free drive-thru testing clinics for health care workers, first responders and essential workers who have symptoms of COVID-19.
Clinics will be held from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday at following locations:
CK Newsome Community Center, 100 E. Walnut St., Evansville
Ivy Tech, 3800 N. Anthony Blvd., Fort Wayne
St. Timothy Community Church, 1600 W. 25{sup}th{/sup} Ave., Gary
Ivy Tech, 8204 Highway 311, Sellersburg
Participants should bring a driver’s license or other state of Indiana-issued identification card and documentation of place of employment. Only symptomatic individuals will be tested. Tests will be conducted as long as supplies last and will be limited to one individual per vehicle.
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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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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 A3.
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Visit the Community COVID-19 Task Force’s website at covid19communitytaskforce.org for local information.
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