ISDH: More than 300 new positive COVID-19 cases
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — On Monday afternoon, the Indiana State Department of Health announced more than 300 new positive cases of COVID-19 in that state. The department also said there were seven more deaths related to the coronavirus.
Currently, Indiana stands at 8,236 positive coronavirus cases with 350 deaths.
ISDH has been providing daily updates around 10 a.m. here.
Officials in Indiana are not yet providing information on recoveries. Dr. Kris Box recently said that information will be available as soon as medical codes are created that will offer COVID-19 recovery information, which the state does not currently have.
According to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University, there have been more than 1,863,000 confirmed cases worldwide, with more than 440,000 recoveries and more than 115,000 deaths.
The actions of Hoosiers have made a positive impact on coronavirus in Indiana, Gov. Eric Holcomb said in a Monday virtual press conference.
- Holcomb said he would look at tweaks Friday on the “Hunker Down Hoosiers” executive order, which expires next Monday.
- The virus has spread into all 92 Indiana counties, Holcomb said.
- The state will continue to focus on the four quarters of the virus, the mitigation phase now, moving into the surveillance phase — the ability to track, contact and trace people who have tested positive and determine when they can get back into the workforce. The third quarter is when we’re all back to work, he said, and it will be “a new normal.” And then ultimately, the fourth quarter is when we’re growing again, Holcomb said.
- “We’re still in the woods, but the good news if we can see the clearing ahead,” Holcomb said.
- Indiana health commissioner Dr. Kris Box said the reported cases and deaths on Monday were lower than usual but suggested not reading to much into that because of the possible effect of the holiday weekend on reporting.
- The case demographics by race in Indiana haven’t changed much since last week, and the Latino population is still missing a significant amount of data, Box said.
- About 44% of ICU beds in Indiana are still available. About 73% of ventilators in the state are available, Box said.
- What the state is most concerned about is “surge capacity.” The surge was initially expected this week but because of social distancing, probably more like the last week of April in Marion County and the first weeks of May in other counties, Box said.
- Box discussed drive-thru testing around the state, thanking the Indiana National Guard and others for their work.
- Indiana has received 100 new ventilators from the national strategic stockpile, Box said.
- Holcomb said the “unprecedented challenge” we’re facing shows the “true Indiana ethos, who we are and who we aspire to be,” and shows the good acts people are taking at work and at home to put the common good ahead of themselves. “This is how we’re able to flatten the curve. This is how we’re able to slow the spread,” Holcomb said.
- Indiana Secretary of Commerce Jim Schellinger and his chief of staff, Luke Bosso, explained the way the state has worked with Indiana companies to purchase personal protective equipment and to get companies that usually produce other items to produce PPE at this time.
- In total, the state has received commitments for over 2.6 million pieces of PPE and has received more than 400,000 pieces.
- In response to a question about whether he has overextended his authority, Holcomb said he sympathizes and understands Hoosiers, including lawmakers, who have a vested interest in representing their constituency and says he will seek to work with his legislative partners, as he had since Day 1.
- He said the state does not want to jeopardize our relationship with the federal funding that’s coming our way that a lot of our executive orders have centered on, that we have the proper timeline and the proper safety measures in place to be able to mitigate the virus spread and reach Hoosiers in need.
- “We’ve acted constitutionally throughout this entire process. And if we disagree about that, I’d be more than welcome to sit down with anyone that wants to go over the Constitution or see where our authority derives from,” Holcomb said.
- Holcomb said Indiana wants to remain in line with state authority and understand the balance of federalism and states’ rights, saying he thinks President Trump has Hoosiers’ best interests in mind.
- Holcomb said he spoke to Vice President Mike Pence over the weekend, and the White House has the same data the governor sees.
- “We’ll continue to work with the president and his team, look to them and the CDC for guidance,” Holcomb said.
- Sen. Todd Young will be at Tuesday’s press conference to talk about SBA loans and the CARES Act, and where Indiana is in that process, Holcomb said.
- Fred Payne with the Department of Workforce Development, said the number of filings were down a little from the previous week and have been consistently over 120,000 per week for the last several weeks and he does not expect that to lower any time soon. They are having issues with call volume but trying to work on it.
- Answering a question about disposing of PPE, Box said PPE from hospitals and dealing with COVID-positive patients should be disposed of and hospitals know how to do that. As far as what individuals wear in their daily lives, that can be washed and reused.
- “We’re in constant discussions with both the major parties here in Indiana and with the secretary of state,” to ensure elections are “safe and secure,” Holcomb said in response to a question about Indiana vote-by-mail for the upcoming primary amid comments from President Trump that he opposes voting by mail and that it leads to voter fraud.
- The federal government has already forwarded a lot of funding to use to conduct Indiana elections safely and fairly. He said he wants to ensure the steps we take set the right precedent. Final details will come from Indiana Secretary of State Connie Lawson at a later date, he said.
- Initially on Friday, the state reported 24 deaths at Bethany Pointe facility in Madison County. That number has been corrected to 21, and after an additional death, stands at 22, Dr. Daniel Rusyniak with the Family and Social Services administration said.
- Answering a question about when the state is planning to ease “stay at home” restrictions in Indiana, Holcomb said, “We are working with the (Trump) administration. We will not surprise them with the steps that we take.”
- Box said the state’s data doesn’t match a model mentioned in a question because her team is looking at Indiana data alone and looking at mitigation efforts. Box said she does not believe we have hit our peak yet. Every week, ISDH sits down with a group of public health professionals and looks at a number of models to determine which model Indiana is following most closely, then they give a report on those models to the state.
- Holcomb says he speaks to governors of Kentucky and Ohio on a weekly basis about the Great Lakes region. He also cites a New York Times article that called out Great Lakes states in a positive manner regarding mitigation practices.
- “What we don’t want to do is come up short or relax at the wrong time,” Holcomb said.
- Box said that over the weekend they were able to get rid of provider requirements that made providers explain why someone needed to be tested. “We want them to test who they think needs to be tested,” Box said.
- Asked whether the Indiana Department of Corrections is doing enough to protect prisoners, Holcomb said we have not had the outbreak that some states have had but that he does not believe in releasing low-level offenders. He said they have sent guidance to locals in the way that they are incarcerating but that state offenders are in a safe place.
- Rob Carter with IDOC said of seven of the IDOC 22 facilities are contaminated with the virus. At those seven locations, 27 offenders have been infected, and they are all separated and quarantined. The IDOC has a total population of around 27,000, Carter said.
UPDATE 9:34 p.m.
Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard, in a news release, strongly urged all who are in public to wear face coverings. He also urged employers to request all front-line employees wear face masks and be tested for the COVID-19 virus. Brainard also requested people shopping for necessary items at essential business — such as groceries, hardware stores, pharmacies, restaurants and others — wear face coverings when interacting with the public. In addition, he said, businesses should also request that food and product delivery people, private shelf-stockers and mail/package carriers from UPS, FedEx, USPS, Amazon and other businesses wear masks while in those essential businesses.