The Indiana State Department of Health website offers a handy set of tools for public use.
Once you scroll past some verbiage on the virus, there’s an assortment of charts and diagrams outlining different facets of the COVID-19 pandemic in Indiana.
There’s a map that breaks down the number of tests and deaths by county as well as graphs showing the number of ICU beds and ventilators currently being used in local hospitals. All of the information is cleanly laid out, so all can attain a better understanding of what’s going on while "hunker down" orders are active.
Accurate data and government transparency are essential to understanding the response to the virus, and will help officials determine if progress is being made, but we can’t become desensitized by the numbers.
Choosing to downplay the numbers — whether they’re rising or falling — will lead to a lack of empathy, which is much needed during these trying times.
Many circulating stories are filled with counts and projections, struggling to find the ability to tell individual stories as the number of casualties soars.
The past few weeks have felt like months for many, as life has slowed down with the governor’s orders. It was just last week that Bartholomew County recorded its first coronavirus-related death. Unfortunately it wasn’t the last, and there will likely be more deaths to come.
The first known coronavirus-related death was Robert Lee “Robbie” Amos, 66, of Columbus, who died at 9:18 p.m. April 3 at Community Hospital South of Greenwood. Amos was a well-known law enforcement officer who served 38 years as a Bartholomew County Sheriff’s deputy.
The number of deaths crept to four for the county over the weekend, with the state total eclipsing 340.
Last week, ISDH Commissioner Kristina Box said that Indiana is nowhere near its surge of deaths related to the virus. Until top health officials say otherwise, there isn’t a reason to believe she’s wrong.
We can’t forget these are our neighbors, not statistics, that we are losing. It should be a motivation to continue to push social distancing practices as we aim to flatten the curve.
Don’t become numb to the numbers. The value of human life can’t diminish.
