Monroe County reported a surge in positive COVID-19 cases last week, but the vast majority occurred before April.
The county health department received 263 case reports Friday. Just 17 new cases were reported Monday.
“Most of the positive cases reported last week appear to be historical cases that were not reported, for some reason, during the last COVID-19 surge in December and January,” said Monroe County Health Department Administrator Penny Caudill in a news release. “We normally receive an alert from the Indiana Department of Health when this happens but did not receive one this time.”
Caudill said the spike in cases could push the county’s CDC data tracker from the low to medium level. The state’s COVID dashboard no longer provides a color-coded map of county infection rates.
She said the county is showing an increase over last week’s numbers, backed by results of sampling waste water. Caudill said the number of Little 500 events last weekend could contribute to increased spread of COVID-19.
“We are watching the numbers carefully and will continue to do so, especially after last week’s festivities,” Caudill said in the release.
