State reports 669 additional Hoosiers diagnosed with COVID-19

Staff Reports

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) said 669 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 17,835 the total number of Indiana residents known to have the novel coronavirus following corrections to the previous day’s total.

A total of 1,007 Hoosiers have been confirmed to have died of COVID-19 as of Thursday, an increase of 43 over the previous day following the removal of one duplication.

Another 107 probable deaths have been reported. Probable deaths are those for which a physician listed COVID-19 as a contributing cause based on X-rays, scans and other clinical symptoms but for which no positive test is on record. Deaths are reported based on when data are received by ISDH and occurred over multiple days.

To date, 94,998 tests have been reported to ISDH, up from 91,550 on Wednesday.

Bartholomew County is reporting 250 positive tests with 12 deaths.

Columbus Regional Hospital said Thursday there are 13 patients with COVID-19 being treated at the hospital, one in critical condition and the remainder in stable condition.

The Bartholomew County Health Department is reporting that 1,868 tests have been administered with the 250 positive test results and 1,348 negative test results. There are 263 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 are reporting:

Jackson County: 138 positive cases, one death.

Brown County: 15 positive cases, one death.

Decatur County: 200 positive cases, 26 deaths.

Shelby County: 201 positive cases, 12 deaths.

Jennings County: 75 positive cases, two deaths.

Marion County had the most new cases, at 238. Other counties with more than 10 new cases were Allen (33), Cass (40), Delaware (17), Elkhart (10), Hamilton (10), Jackson (10), Johnson (16), Lake (60), Madison (14), Montgomery (27), Morgan (12), Orange (12) and St. Joseph (14). 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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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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For closings and cancellations, see Page B3 of today’s edition or visit therepublic.com or The Republic’s Facebook page.

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