March 31, 2020 at 4:50 p.m.
Indiana cases up by 373
State had 14 COVID-19 deaths on Monday
Indiana cases up by 373
Indiana posted its largest increase in confirmed cases of coronavirus Monday.
As of midnight, Indiana’s case count was 2,159, a jump of 373 over the previous day. The previous high for new cases was 336 on March 26.
Jay County remains one of a handful of counties in the state without a confirmed case. Only 11 of Indiana’s 92 counties do not have a confirmed case, with Blackford joining Jay on that list.
Case totals in adjacent counties are as follows: Delaware (18), Darke (12), Randolph (three), Wells (two), Mercer (two) and Adams (one).
Indiana has seen an increase of at least 250 cases each of the last five days. It also had its largest increase in deaths Monday with 14, bringing the state’s total to 49.
Ohio’s case total has been on a similar path, coming in at 1,933 cases as of the last update at 2 p.m. Monday. The Buckeye state has had 39 deaths as a result of COVID-19.
Indiana hospitals have increased the state’s intensive care unit capacity by about one-third in the past few weeks in preparation for an expected surge in coronavirus-related illnesses, state officials said Monday.
Having such ICU capacity available has been a prime concern as health officials also reported that the state had 1,786 confirmed COVID-19 cases in a seven-fold increase from a week earlier. Indiana’s 35 virus deaths are five times greater in that time.
Indiana hospitals have added about 500 critical care beds to give the state 1,940 as of Monday, said Dr. Jennifer Sullivan, secretary of the state’s Family and Social Services Administration.
While officials said about 60% of those ICU beds were in use, Sullivan said hospitals continued working to create more ICU capacity by steps such as converting operating and recovery rooms space. The state’s goal is to double the pre-virus intensive care capacity and Indiana’s count of 1,177 ventilators to meet an anticipated COVID-19 case surge in the coming weeks, she said.
Those hospital capacity statistics were the first ones released by Indiana officials after they declined to provide them last week, even as Illinois and other states were doing so.
Indiana University Health, which has 17 hospitals around the state, including IU Health Jay in Portland, is taking steps such as retraining staffers who haven’t worked in critical care positions recently to have enough personnel available, said Dr. Chris Weaver, an emergency physician and a senior vice president for the system.
“That’s a major constraint and a big challenge for us to meet this wave that’s coming our way,” Weaver said.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has just announced that the state’s schools will be closed through May 1.
Dr. Kristina Box, the state health commissioner, said Indiana’s illness peak is still expected in mid- to late-April, but some prediction models show that lasting long.
“It could be as late as mid-May. We don’t know,” Box said. “That surge could be more of a flattened-type surge and that would be over a longer period of time.”
As of midnight, Indiana’s case count was 2,159, a jump of 373 over the previous day. The previous high for new cases was 336 on March 26.
Jay County remains one of a handful of counties in the state without a confirmed case. Only 11 of Indiana’s 92 counties do not have a confirmed case, with Blackford joining Jay on that list.
Case totals in adjacent counties are as follows: Delaware (18), Darke (12), Randolph (three), Wells (two), Mercer (two) and Adams (one).
Indiana has seen an increase of at least 250 cases each of the last five days. It also had its largest increase in deaths Monday with 14, bringing the state’s total to 49.
Ohio’s case total has been on a similar path, coming in at 1,933 cases as of the last update at 2 p.m. Monday. The Buckeye state has had 39 deaths as a result of COVID-19.
Indiana hospitals have increased the state’s intensive care unit capacity by about one-third in the past few weeks in preparation for an expected surge in coronavirus-related illnesses, state officials said Monday.
Having such ICU capacity available has been a prime concern as health officials also reported that the state had 1,786 confirmed COVID-19 cases in a seven-fold increase from a week earlier. Indiana’s 35 virus deaths are five times greater in that time.
Indiana hospitals have added about 500 critical care beds to give the state 1,940 as of Monday, said Dr. Jennifer Sullivan, secretary of the state’s Family and Social Services Administration.
While officials said about 60% of those ICU beds were in use, Sullivan said hospitals continued working to create more ICU capacity by steps such as converting operating and recovery rooms space. The state’s goal is to double the pre-virus intensive care capacity and Indiana’s count of 1,177 ventilators to meet an anticipated COVID-19 case surge in the coming weeks, she said.
Those hospital capacity statistics were the first ones released by Indiana officials after they declined to provide them last week, even as Illinois and other states were doing so.
Indiana University Health, which has 17 hospitals around the state, including IU Health Jay in Portland, is taking steps such as retraining staffers who haven’t worked in critical care positions recently to have enough personnel available, said Dr. Chris Weaver, an emergency physician and a senior vice president for the system.
“That’s a major constraint and a big challenge for us to meet this wave that’s coming our way,” Weaver said.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has just announced that the state’s schools will be closed through May 1.
Dr. Kristina Box, the state health commissioner, said Indiana’s illness peak is still expected in mid- to late-April, but some prediction models show that lasting long.
“It could be as late as mid-May. We don’t know,” Box said. “That surge could be more of a flattened-type surge and that would be over a longer period of time.”
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