For a third consecutive day, Bartholomew County topped previous records of daily COVID-19 cases, with state health officials reporting 186 new cases in the county on Friday.
Prior to the first confirmed omicron variant case in Indiana on Dec. 19, the county’s record for cases in a single day was 126 on Dec. 2, 2020, state records show. Last week, the high mark increased three times, reaching 136 this past Tuesday and 170 on Wednesday. The 186 cases reported Friday reflect positive tests taken on Thursday.
Friday’s tally brings the total number of confirmed infections in the county to just over 15,430 — or nearly 1 in 5 Bartholomew County residents — including nearly 600 during the first five days of last week. The death toll stood at 207 as of Monday morning, with one new death reported Friday.
Of the 186 cases reported Friday, 50 were in people in their 20s, 42 were in people ages 19 or younger, 26 were in their 40s, 22 in their 50s and 19 in their 60s, according to the Indiana Department of Health. Just seven of the cases were people ages 70 and up.
Local health officials believe that the ultra-contagious omicron variant is driving the current surge in cases.
The record-breaking spike in local cases mirrors trends seen across much of the state and country. Indiana reported 43,385 cases this Monday to Wednesday, compared to 25,288 the same period the week before, according to the Indiana Department of Health.
Coronavirus hospitalizations also remain at their highest levels in over a year, with 3,314 people hospitalized with the virus in Indiana as of Wednesday and just 10% of the state’s ICU beds available, according to the most recent data available Monday morning.
Cases have also surged in neighboring Jackson County. Updated figures released Friday evening show that the county nearly reached its record for daily COVID-19 cases last week.
On Wednesday, 106 Jackson County residents tested positive for COVID-19, just nine cases shy of the record 115 set on Dec. 2, 2020.
Locally, resources remain strained at Columbus Regional Hospital, where coronavirus hospitalizations continued to hover at around 50 on Monday morning and increasing number of staff are missing work due to testing positive for COVID-19 or needing to quarantine for one reason or another.
On Friday, CRH said it had converted a first-floor main hallway into a spill-over triage area and is delaying some non-emergency procedures to free up beds and staff. The triage area, located between the cafeteria and the emergency department on the south side of the hospital, is expected to be used to evaluate and treat less severe patients who turn up in the emergency room.
CRH did not need to use the triage space over the weekend but “we maintained a very high capacity with fewer staff available,” said CRH spokeswoman Kelsey DeClue.
As of Monday morning, there were 47 COVID-19 patients hospitalized at CRH — including nine in the ICU, the hospital said. On top of that, 25 CRH staff members missed work due to COVID-19 or a related reason, hospital officials said.
