INDIANAPOLIS — Bartholomew County’s health officer said Thursday the county will follow guidelines from state government moving forward in the COVID-19 pandemic response.
Health Officer Dr. Brian Niedbalski said it appears Bartholomew County is starting to see a plateau in COVID-19 local cases, "although it remains uncertain if we still may see a ‘surge’ in the next week or two."
"This does not change the fact that COVID-19 is still prevalent in our community," Niedbalski said. "We need to continue to follow guidelines on social distancing. If we return to activities that could promote the spread of the virus too soon, then we will likely see another spike in cases."
Niedbalski said Bartholomew County and Columbus residents need to follow the guidelines from the state government.
"We should be wearing masks when out in stores, pharmacies, or any place else where social distancing cannot be obtained," he said "I would also encourage front line employees at all stores as well as restaurant employees to wear some type of facial covering if at all possible while working."
Columbus Regional Hospital said Thursday it now has 12 hospital in-patients being treated for COVID-19, two listed as critical-stable and 10 in stable condition.
The hospital reported Wednesday that 23 CRH staff members/providers have tested positive for COVID-19.
Bartholomew County is reporting 116 positive COVID-19 tests, with five deaths.
Bartholomew County is reporting it has administered 903 tests with the 116 positive results and the five deaths. There have been 628 negative test results for COVID-19 in the county, with 106 tests pending, according to the health department.
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.
The Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) on Thursday announced that 611 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 9,542 the total number of Indiana residents known to have the novel coronavirus following corrections to the previous day’s total.
A total of 477 Hoosiers have died to date. Deaths are reported based on when data are received by ISDH and occurred over multiple days.
To date, 51,115 tests have been reported to ISDH, up from 48,396 on Tuesday.
Other county reports near to Bartholomew County are:
- Decatur County: 160 positive tests, 14 deaths
- Shelby County: 86 positive tests, four deaths
- Brown County: 14 positive tests, one death"
- Jackson County: 77 positive tests, no deaths
- Jennings County: 63 positive tests, no deaths.
Marion County had the most new cases on Thursday, at 113. Other counties with more than 10 new cases were Allen (44), Elkhart (19), Floyd (10), Hamilton (15), Hendricks (18), Johnson (11), LaPorte (70), Lake (106), Porter (14) and St. Joseph (35). 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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Because of limited supplies of testing materials, Columbus Regional Hospital officials have said relatively healthy people with a low fever and cough and are not that sick will 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 COVID-19 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 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.
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.
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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Visit the Community COVID-19 Task Force’s website at covid19communitytaskforce.org for local information.
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