A record high number of COVID-19 cases has been reported yesterday by the Indiana State Department of Health. Case counts, deaths and positivity rates all surged.
Indiana confirmed 3,649 new positive cases — more than three times the average number reported at the end of September — and 33 new deaths. This marked the first time Indiana has recorded more than 3,000 new positive cases, and these numbers increase Indiana’s positive case count and death count to 172,730 and 4,024, respectively.
On average, more than 20 Hoosiers die every day of the virus, while 1,733 are currently hospitalized, the highest since early April. Of those, 509 are in intensive care, which is the most since May 6.
Such hospitalizations have grown by more than 72% since Sept. 22 — the day before Gov. Eric Holcomb announced his decision to lift nearly all of Indiana’s restrictions while extending the statewide mask mandate.
READ MORE: Indiana Official Says COVID-19 Vaccine Could Be Available As Early As November
More than 70% of Indiana’s ICU beds are also in use, according to the health department, leaving 565 beds available as of Thursday. Now, more of Indiana’s ICU beds are filled than at any other point in the pandemic.
The state has administered 2.8 million tests on 1.6 million individuals with a 7.3% seven-day positivity rate.
In Monroe County, the ISDH reported 26 new positive cases, increasing the county total to 3,450. The death toll remained at 38. Monroe County has administered 118,579 tests and has the highest testing rate in the state with 35,151 residents out of every 100,000 residents tested. This helps explain the county’s seven-day positivity rate of 2.5% — one of the lowest in the state.
The ISDH scored Monroe County in the “Yellow Zone,” meaning it has a seven-day positivity rate between 5% and 9.9% or between 10 and 99 new weekly cases per every 100,000 residents.
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