INDIANA, USA — This is blog contains daily updates on COVID-19 information for Indiana. The Indiana State Department of Health gives daily updates at noon, while Gov. Eric Holcomb and other state officials provide more context every Wednesday at 2:30 p.m.
Saturday, October 18
The Indiana Department of Health announced that 1,629 additional Hoosiers have been diagnosed with COVID-19. That brings to 147,582 the total number of Indiana residents known to have the virus.
A total of 3,704 Hoosiers are confirmed to have died from COVID-19, an increase of 19 from Saturday. Another 233 probable deaths have been reported among patients for whom no positive test was recorded before they died.
As of Sunday, 1,555,437 unique individuals have been tested in Indiana, up from 1,545,927 on Saturday. A total of 2,512,174 tests, including repeat tests for unique individuals, have been reported to the state Department of Health since Feb. 26.
Saturday, October 17
The Indiana State Department of Health reported another daily record of Hoosiers testing positive for COVID-19 with 2,521 cases Saturday. Nearly 146 thousand people have tested positive in Indiana since early March.
With 31 additional deaths reported Saturday, some occurring as far back as mid-August, Indiana has now lost a total of 3,685 people to the virus.
Friday, October 16
The Indiana State Department of Health is once again reporting a record-breaking day of positive COVID-19 cases. Friday, there were 2,328 newly confirmed positive cases and 22 more deaths.
Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 143,495 total cases and 3,654 total deaths. An additional 233 deaths are presumed to have been caused by the virus, but doctors did not have a positive test result on file.
The newly reported positive cases date back to July 29, according to the ISDH dashboard. The newly reported deaths go back to Sept. 24.
The seven-day positivity rate increased from the day before: 5.8 percent for all tests and 10.4 percent for unique individuals.
Total hospitalizations slightly decreased from the previous day, with 1,311 Hoosiers being treated for COVID-19 in hospitals on Thursday.
Thursday, October 15
The Indiana State Department of Health has reported 1,962 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state, bringing the state's total to more than 141,000.
23 more people have died from the virus. In total, 3,632 Hoosiers have died from COVID-19.
Nearly 2.4 million Hoosiers have been tested for the virus. The 7-day positivity rate of all tests is at 5.4 percent.
State leaders have continuously said the goal is to keep the positivity rate below 5 percent.
ISDH reported 1,355 COVID-19 patients were in hospitals across the state Wednesday — the highest number since May 13, when there were 1,381 hospitalized patients receiving care for COVID-19.
Governor Eric J. Holcomb has tested negative for COVID-19, according to a statement shared by his office Thursday morning.
The Governor was tested after learning that State Health Commissioner Dr. Kristina Box had tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday after she spent time with her grandson and daughter, who also tested positive.
Dr. Lindsay Weaver, Chief Medical Officer for the Indiana State Department of Health, several members of the Governor’s Office, and several members of the state department of health were given both an Abbott rapid test and a nasopharyngeal PCR test out of an abundance of caution.
According to Dr. Box and Dr. Weaver, the Governor and staff members did not meet the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s definition of close contact as they were socially distanced and wore masks during their interactions with Dr. Box.
“Janet and I are wishing Dr. Box and her family a speedy recovery,” Gov. Holcomb said in the announcement. “The coronavirus does not discriminate, and this further highlights the importance of wearing masks and social distancing.”
Dr. Box and Dr. Weaver have advised Gov. Holcomb that he can resume his normal schedule with vigilance about masking and social distancing.
Dr. Box will quarantine for 14 days.
Wednesday, October 14
Noon
The Indiana State Department of Health has reported 1,172 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state, bringing the state's total to more than 138,000.
Fourteen more people have died from the virus. In total, 3,609 Hoosiers have died from COVID-19.
Nearly 2.4 million Hoosiers have been tested for the virus. The 7-day positivity rate of all tests is at 5.3 percent.
2:30 p.m.
Dr. Box announced she has tested positive, along with her daughter and her grandson. Box said since the pandemic began, she has kept close contact only to her immediate family. She believes her grandson contracted the virus from daycare, and she picked it up from him and his mother.
Gov. Holcomb has also extended Stage 5 and mask mandate for thirty more days due to the increased number of COVID-19 cases.
Tuesday, October 13
State health officials announced 1,569 new COVID-19 cases and 27 newly reported deaths Tuesday. The deaths reported range from Sept. 11 to Oct. 12.
In total, the state has had 138,104 total positive cases and 3,595 deaths. The state's positivity rate among unique individuals sits at 9.4%, while its positivity rate for all tests is 5.3%.
More than 2.3 million tests have been administered since the start of the pandemic.
Monday, October 12
Indiana health officials are reporting 1,581 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19, and six additional deaths. That brings the totals to 136,555 positive cases and 3,568 deaths.
Week of October 5: Indiana COVID-19 updates
Last week, Indiana saw three straight days of record-breaking COVID-19 numbers and a slight dip in cases on Sunday with 1,579 new cases, which is still the third-highest daily total since the start of the pandemic.
The surge prompted IU Health East Central Region to cautioned the community about a surge in COVID-19 patients in its three hospitals along the Interstate 69 corridor northeast of Indianapolis. IU Health Ball Memorial, Blackford and Jay Hospitals are treating an “all-time high of COVID-19 inpatients."