COLUMBUS, Ind. — Local COVID-19 task force officials plan to meet on Thursday to discuss “school options” after the number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 at Columbus Regional Hospital reached a record high this week.
There were 22 people hospitalized with COVID-19 at CRH on Monday, surpassing the previous overall peak of 20 in late April. By Tuesday morning, hospitalization dropped to 16, with four patients listed in critical condition and 12 in stable condition, the hospital said.
All but five patients in the hospital with coronavirus infections on Tuesday were Bartholomew County residents.
Additionally, the per capita positive rate in Bartholomew County — a rolling seven-day average of the number of positive tests per 100,000 residents — has been in the “red,” or “substantial spread” category, for 15 consecutive days from Aug. 9 to Aug. 23., though it has declined since Aug. 16.
The seven-day test positivity rate in two surrounding counties — Jackson and Decatur counties — was 5.7 and 5.42, respectively, as of Tuesday, slightly higher than in Bartholomew County, which had a rate of 5.12, according to the Indiana State Department of Health.
Overall, the metrics indicate a “high-level of (COVID-19) activity” in Bartholomew County and surrounding areas, said Dr. Brian Niedbalski, Bartholomew County health officer, who described the numbers as “very concerning.”
For more on this story, see Wednesday’s Republic.
