ISDH: 650 more cases of COVID-19, 57 more deaths

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — On Tuesday morning, the Indiana State Department of Health announced 650 more cases of COVID-19 with 57 more deaths.

Currently, the state of Indiana has 16,588 total COVID-19 cases with 901 deaths related to the virus.

There have been 87,181 tests administered in the state of Indiana, according to the department.

• MORE: Latest coronavirus headlines on WISHTV.com

ISDH has been providing daily updates here.

Officials in Indiana are not yet providing information on recoveries. Dr. Box has 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 3,062,000 confirmed cases worldwide, with more than 906,000 recoveries and more than 212,000 deaths.

In a Tuesday virtual press conference, Gov. Eric Holcomb and other state officials provided updates on the virus in Indiana.

• Dr. Lindsay Weaver, chief medical officer of the Indiana State Department of Health, gave an update on positive virus cases and testing in place of Indiana health commissioner Dr. Kris Box, who Holcomb said was not at the press conference due to a non-COVID-related family emergency.
• Weaver gave examples of ways that Hoosiers may have received invitations to be part of the state’s virus study to ensure residents saw that those postcards, emails, text messages or phone calls were legitimate. She encourage people who received invitations to register to provide more data for the study.
• The state has tested more than 87,000 people drive-thru clinics and with strike teams. The eligible groups for drive-thru had been symptomatic essential workers and their households, as well as symptomatic people with underlying conditions that make them high risk.
• As of Tuesday that testing expands. Over the next week, OptumServe will partner with the state to launch 20 testing sites for any Hoosier with virus symptoms, with a capacity to test 100,000 people in the first 30 days. The testing is also available for close contacts of people who have tested positive, or residents of congregant communities. In the next two weeks, the testing is set to expand to 50 sites around the state, Weaver said.
• Over the next week, 20 sites will open in Indiana National Guard armories, and each site will be open at least eights hours per day, Monday through Friday.
• People who want to be tested at these sites are encouraged to sign up online. A call-in line will also be available.
• To sign up online, users will self-report symptoms in the Optum online screening tool and register to be assigned an appointment date and time. That registration portal will open 48 before a testing site opens.
• No one will be charged for testing, and you do not have to have insurance to be tested. People who do have private insurance are asked to bring that information with them to the testing.
• Test results will be provided to the individual and to ISDH. People who test negative will receive a text or email. People who test positive will receive a phone call.
• With all sites open, up to 30,000 people will be able to be tested weekly, in addition to ongoing ISDH testing.
• “Everything that you’ve been doing to flatten the curve, to slow the spread, that’s why we find ourselves in a new position to make some decisions about how we go forward,” Holcomb said.
• “Your physical distancing has made quite a difference. … Our Friday plan will reflect that new normal,” Holcomb said. He said that plan would include “all the new ways that we just must safely live, work and play so that we can continue to experience this progress” in the state’s work to flight the virus.
• Holcomb said the state is focused on this question when looking at how to act next amid the spread of coronavirus: Is the health care system that we have overwhelmed?
• “It’s not just focusing on the positive cases. This could be with us, folks, for a year,” Holcomb said.
• He said the state was focused on not just one aspect, but did give laser focus to hospitalization rates and ventilator and ICU bed availability, all to ensure the state can continue to care for people without overloading the health care system.
• About a report that Simon Malls would reopen on Saturday, Holcomb says he has spoken to Simon Malls CEO David Simon. Holcomb says Simon weighed in, as the state asked businesses to do, but Simon does not know details of the contents of the state’s Friday announcements. He said that malls would be included in that Friday guidance.
• In response to a question about the constitutionality of the executive orders in Indiana, Holcomb said, “We’re confident that any action that I’ve taken has been constitutional and it’s been out of the necessity to ensure public health.”
• “It (the question) goes to our civil liberties, to our rights and freedoms, which are foundational for our country and to our way of life,” said Joe Heerens, general counsel for the governor.
• “Care has been taken from Day 1, from that very first executive order issued on March 6, by the governor and by our office, to craft the executive orders in a way that keeps them within the bounds of the law,” Heerens said.
• “We have to make sure that we protect our health care network, our health care system,” Holcomb said in response to a question about whether guidance would change if cases spiked again under more relaxed orders.
• About colleges and universities, Holcomb said the state has been in communication with them about how they could accommodate students and said more information on schools would be given Friday but decisions would likely be made later in May.
• When should people who tested positive but are no longer symptomatic be retested? “Retesting is actually not recommended on a regular basis,” Weaver said, because those tests often still come back positive a couple weeks later, but the tests don’t determine whether those people can still infect others.
• Weaver agreed with a CDC recommendation against people wearing gloves in public: “People aren’t trained on the proper use of gloves, so you would go and touch several surfaces and therefore continue to spread the virus around.”
• Weaver also said while in the grocery store or a similar place, she recommends putting your phone away so as not to touch items in a store and then touch your phone.
• People who are freelance workers and have applied for unemployment may see incomplete information when they log in because that information isn’t necessarily all processed yet, said Fred Payne with the Department of Workforce Development.
• A reporter asked why there was initially a low capacity of testing in Indiana compared to the rest of the Midwest, based on a map provided by the Department of Health and Human Services. “As of today, we’re still ahead of some of our neighbors in the Midwest area,” Weaver said. She said the factors that come into play are scarce resource: the labs available, whether they have the right machines and the right chemicals, the swab, the liquid.
• “When I say that we’re going to make our final decision Thursday night at midnight … We’re going to use all of our time to best be informed on Friday. We’re not going to try to short circuit it. We’re not going to try to cut corners. We’re going to use the newest information,” Holcomb said about whether certain regions — Lake County in particular — were ready to reopen. Positive cases are one factor in that equation, he said.
• “The ISDH strike team was able to go in and test all those people. When we go and do testing on site, we talk to them about what they can do or what we can do to better protect their employees. The state department of health is contacting all of those positive cases” to find out if they have everything they need to take care of themselves and to prepare those people for recovery, Weaver said about the cases at a Tyson processing plant in Cass County.
• Holcomb again said he does not have information to share about the Friday guidance and that a mall or store will look at the guidance and see if they can operate by it.
• Has Gov. Holcomb’s relationship with Pence benefited the state’s fight against the virus? “Our requests tend not to sit on the desk too long, so I would say yes. … I don’t want to assume any favoritism because” the administration has been constant contact with all the governors, Holcomb said.
• Weaver said OptumServe will provide all the supplies, including personal protective equipment and workers and will collect the swab specimens and manage the testing and reporting of results. The cost to the state at the time of the briefing was $17.9 million. Weaver said the hope was that a good portion of that cost would be covered by federal grants. It was not clear what span of time that testing cost covered.
• The locations of the additional 30 sites to be added will be based on hot spots and needs, and the testing will continue on a month-to-month basis, Weaver said.
• According to the governor’s office, about 4,400 more Hoosiers will be tested every day in the initial phase of Optum testing. And when all 50 sites are open, as many as 6,600 more Hoosiers can be tested per day.
• Holcomb said one reason they’re doing month-to-month is because new tests, new products may become available, and we don’t want to be tethered to older things when those become available.
• Weaver answered questions about the low number of cases and low amount of testing in Brown County, saying that she expected if testing were increased there, there would be more positive cases.
• “We all need to continue to act as if we currently have the virus and others around us have it, too, so every measure to do that social distancing and take all precautions is what is needed so that we don’t have that false sense of security,” Weaver said.
• Asked about whether cases of flu-like symptoms experienced in February at some Brown County schools, Weaver said the serology testing being done with IU Fairbanks could tell us something about cases in Indiana.
• What is the testing goal before reopening economy? “There are so many data points that go into” a decision like that, Weaver said. She said there isn’t an exact number, but the state is in constant contact with hospitals, health departments and health care providers.
• Holcomb said parts of the economy were already open, but that the other segments would reopen in multiple stages, through the summer.
• A reporter asked about the COVID-19 death count in Vigo County. She said the county was reporting four deaths, but the state was reporting five. Vigo County told her the fifth death did not have COVID-19 listed as the primary cause of death. Weaver said there is a delay to some reporting and that the “presumed death” area of the ISDH reporting includes people who did not test positive and that people who have COVID-19 listed as a condition, even if it is not the main cause of death, are included in the state’s totals.

Timeline of coronavirus in Indiana

• March 6: Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) confirms the first case in Indiana. Officials say the Marion County resident had recently traveled to Boston to attend a BioGen conference as a contractor.
• March 8: ISDH confirms a second case. An adult in Hendricks County who had also traveled to the BioGen conference was placed in isolation. Noblesville Schools announces that a parent and that parent’s children will be self-quarantining after attending an out-of-state event where someone else tested positive.
• March 9: ISDH’s total of positive cases rises to 4. Avon Community School Corp. had announced on March 8 that a student tested positive; that case, along with another in Noble County, was confirmed by state health officials at a news conference.
• March 10: ISDH’s total of positive cases rises to 6 as the state launches an online tracker. Purdue and Indiana universities suspend classes for two weeks beyond their spring breaks. Ball State University basketball fans learn the Mid-American Conference tourney will have no fans in the stands. Three businesses operating nursing homes in Indiana announce they will no longer allow visitors.
• March 11: ISDH confirms four more positive cases in Indiana. The University of Indianapolis announces it will extend its ongoing spring break through March 22. The Indianapolis-based NCAA announces the men’s and women’s Final Four basketball tournaments will be conducted with essential staff and limited family attendance. The Big Ten announces all sports events, including the men’s basketball tournament at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, will have no fans starting March 12. Ball State University announces classes are suspended for the rest of the spring semester. NBA suspends all games, including the Indiana Pacers, until further notice. Butler University extends its spring break, after which it will go to virtual classes.
• March 12: ISDH’s total of positive cases rises 12. Taylor University cancels international and domestic spring break trips for students and faculty sponsors. Indianapolis’ annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade is canceled. Gov. Eric Holcomb announces new protections that led to extended public school closings and the cancellation of large events across the state. The league including the Indy Fuel hockey team suspends its season. Indy Eleven says it will reschedule four matches, including its April 4 home opener. The NCAA cancels the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments. The Big Ten suspends all sporting events through the winter and spring seasons.
• March 13: Gov. Holcomb announces additional actions — they included eliminating Medicaid co-pays for COVID-19 testing and lifting regulations limiting the number of work hours per day for drivers of commercial vehicles — to help stop the coronavirus. Wayzata Home Products, a Connersville cabinet maker, shut down and lays off its entire workforce due to market uncertainty associated with the coronavirus. The Indiana High School Athletic Association postpones the boys basketball tournament. Franklin College says it will have no in-person classes March 16 and 17, start online classes March 18 through at least April 5 and empty residence halls of students by 5 p.m. March 15. The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis says it will be closed March 14-28. The Indianapolis Public Library joins other libraries across Indiana and says it will close all facilities until further notice beginning at 5 p.m. March 14.
• March 14: ISDH’s total number of positive cases rises to 15. The Indiana Gaming Commission says all licensed gaming and racing operations will close 14 days starting March 16.
• March 15: ISDH’s total number of positive cases rises to 19, with 121 tested. St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis announces all elective, non-urgent surgeries are canceled as of Tuesday.
• March 16: Gov. Eric Holcomb announces the first Hoosier death. ISDH’s total number of positive cases rises to 24. Holcomb closes bars, restaurants and nightlubs to in-person patrons, while carryout and delivery services will still be allowed.
• March 17: ISDH announces the second Hoosier death. Indiana’s Catholic bishops announce the cancellation of Sunday and weekday public masses. Gov. Holcomb activates the National Guard to assist as needed with the virus response. Purdue, Butler and Indiana State universities cancel May commencement ceremonies.
• March 18: ISDH’s total number of positive cases rises to 39. Eli Lilly and Co. says it will use its labs to speed up testing in Indiana for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The 500 Festival announces suspends all planned, in-person events scheduled through May 9. Simon Property Group closes all malls and retail properties until March 29.
• March 19: ISDH’s total number of positive cases rises to 56. Gov. Holcomb extends Indiana’s state of emergency into May. Holcomb says all K-12 public schools will be closed until May 1 and nonpublic schools also are to close. Standardized testing was canceled. The state’s income-tax and corporate-tax payment deadline was extended to July 15. Holcomb says the state will waive job search requirements for people applying for Temporary Assistance to Needy Families. The IHSAA Boys Basketball State Tournament was canceled. The Marion County Emergency Operations Center upgrades to Level 1 status.
• March 20: ISDH reports the third Hoosier death and 23 new cases for a total of 79. Gov. Holcomb moves the state’s primary election to June 2. Indiana University says it is postponing May commencement ceremonies on all campuses. Indiana University Health says it can do limited virus testing.
• March 21: ISDH reports the fourth Hoosier death, and 47 new cases positive for a total of 126. A total of 833 people have been tested for the virus. Indiana National Guard details how it’s working with the Department of Transportation on distribution of medical supplies to hospitals.
• March 22: Indiana’s death toll rises to 7. ISDH reports 75 more positive cases.
• March 23: ISDH reports 259 cases of COVID-19, up from 201 a day earlier. Gov. Holcomb orders Hoosiers deemed nonessential to “stay at home” from March 24-April 7. Eli Lilly & Co. begins drive-thru testing for the coronavirus for health care workers with a doctor’s order. Ball State University cancels the May commencement.
• March 24: Indiana’s death toll rises to 13. Fred Payne of Indiana Workforce Development says any Hoosiers out of work, including temporary layoffs, are eligible to apply for unemployment benefits.
• March 25: Indiana’s death toll rises 17. Indianapolis Motor Speedway announces the Indianapolis 500 is moved to Aug. 23. IndyGo suspends fares and changes its ride schedules.
• March 27: Indiana’s death toll rises to 25. Marion County adds 192 new positive COVID-19 cases, the most of any county in the state for the day, for a total of 484. Indiana has 981 confirmed cases.
• March 28: Indiana’s death toll rises to 31. Marion County adds 100 new cases, the most of any county in the state, for a total of 584. Indiana has 1,232 confirmed cases.
• March 29: Indiana’s death toll rises to 32. Marion County adds 92 new positive cases, the most of any county in the state, for a total 676. Indiana has 1,514 confirmed cases. President Donald Trump announces in a press conference that the national social distancing recommendation will be extended by 30 days, to end April 30.
• March 30: Indiana’s death toll rises to 35. Marion County had the most new cases in the state with 135, for a total of 804. Indiana health commissioner Dr. Kris Box predicted the arrival of the surge in cases and deaths could come in mid-April to late April, but could be as late as mid-May, “but we don’t know.”
• March 31: Indiana’s death toll rises to 49. Gov. Holcomb extends the limits of bars and restaurants to offer only “to go” and “carry out” through April 6. Health commissioner Box, asked about when Indiana will be in a surge of COVID-19 cases, says she thinks the surge is starting.
• April 1: Indiana’s death toll rises to 65. Officials extend Marion County’s “stay at home” order through May 1. Marion County health officials say they will start COVID-19 testing services for frontline employees.The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis says it will remain closed until further notice. Gov. Holcomb announces the #InThisTogether campaign.
• April 2: Indiana’s death toll rises to 78. The state announces K-12 schools will be closed for the rest of the school year. The Indiana High School Athletic Association cancels spring sports seasons.
• April 3: Indiana’s death toll rises to 102. Gov. Holcomb extends the “stay at home” order through April 20. Indiana officials say the state has received a federal Major Disaster Declaration for all 92 counties. The Indiana National Guard says it, the Army Corps of Engineers and state health officials will begin on Saturday to assess sites for alternate health care facilities.
• April 4: ISDH reports 14 more deaths, bringing the state’s total to 116. 3,953 Hoosiers have tested positive, with 116 deaths and 19,800 total tests conducted. 
• April 5: ISDH reports 11 more deaths in Indiana.
• April 6: Indiana’s death toll rises to 139. The state reports one Madison County nursing home has had 11 deaths. Gov. extends the “stay at home” order through April 20. He also limits additional businesses to carry-out only.
• April 7: Indiana’s death toll rises to 173. A total of 5,507 Hoosiers have tested positive. Indiana health commissioner Box notes four long-term care facilities have 22 deaths that appear to be related to COVID-19.
• April 8: Indiana surpasses 200 deaths. Indiana now has 203 deaths and 5,943 confirmed cases. A total of 30,869 Hoosiers have been tested.
• April 9: ISDH says 6,351 Hoosiers have been tested positive, resulting in 245 deaths. A total of 32,133 Hoosiers have been tested.
• April 10: ISDH says 6,907 Hoosiers have tested positive for COVID-19, resulting in 300 deaths. A total of 35,040 Hoosiers have been tested. ISDH said 24 residents of a long-term care facility in Madison County have died from COVID-related illness.
• April 11: 30 more deaths are announced, bringing Indiana’s total to 330.
• April 12: A total of 343 Hoosiers have now died due to COVID-19, according to ISDH. Just under 8,000 cases have been confirmed in Indiana.
• April 13: Indiana stands at 350 deaths and 8,236 positive coronavirus cases, according to ISDH.
• April 14: ISDH announces 313 more cases and 37 more deaths, bringing the totals to 8,527 positive cases and 387 deaths.
• April 15: ISDH announces 49 more deaths for a total of 463. The total of positive cases grows to 8,955.
• April 16: Indiana reports 477 deaths and 9,542 positive cases. The governor says he expects Indiana to experience a reopening in early May.
• April 17: ISDH reports 519 deaths and 10,154 positive cases. The governor says that he will be extending the stay-at-home order through May 1, although some restrictions may be lifted in the new order.
• April 18: ISDH reports 26 more deaths. ISDH says there are now 10,641 positive cases and 545 Hoosiers have died as a result of the virus.
• April 19: 17 more Hoosiers have died according to ISDH, bringing Indiana’s total to 562.
• April 20: ISDH reports seven new deaths. ISDH says there are now 11,686 positive cases and 569 deaths related to the virus. Holcomb extended the “stay at home” order to May 1. The governor also said, if the medical supply chain is in good shape, other elective medical procedures can resume April 27.
• April 21: Indiana reports more than 12,000 positive cases and more than 600 deaths.
• April 22: Indiana reports 12,438 COVID-19 cases and 661 deaths. The Tyson facility in Logansport voluntarily closes so 2,200 employees can be tested for COVID-19.
• April 23: Indiana reports 13,039 COVID-19 cases and 709 deaths.
• April 24: Indiana reports 13,680 COVID-19 cases and 741 deaths. The Indianapolis City-County Council unanimously approved $25 million in an emergency meeting to help small businesses. Fishers City Council creates a city health department with a plan to test every resident.
• April 25: Indiana reports 14,395 COVID-19 cases and 785 deaths. ISDH launched an antibody testing study for Hoosiers on Saturday. Thousands of residents were randomly selected to participate in the study.
• April 26: Indiana reports 15,012 positive COVID-19 cases and 813 total deaths.
• April 27: Indiana reports 15,961 positive COVID-19 cases and 844 total deaths.
• April 28: Indiana reports 16,588 positive COVID-19 cases and 901 total deaths. Indiana officials say they are opening up COVID-19 testing to more Hoosiers, with expanded criteria and new testing services at 20 sites around the state.
• April 29: Indiana reports 17,182 positive COVID-19 cases and 964 total deaths. The state said it will spent $43 million on contact tracing.
• April 30: Indiana reports 17,835 positive COVID-19 cases and 1,007 total deaths. Indianapolis extends its stay-at-home order through May 15.
• May 1: Indiana reports 18,630 positive COVID-19 cases and 1,062 deaths. Gov. Eric Holcomb announces a phased reopening plan for the state of Indiana. He also extends the stay-at-home order to May 4.
• May 2: Indiana reports 19,295 positive COVID-19 cases and 1,115 deaths.
• May 3: Indiana reports 19,993 positive COVID-19 cases and 1,132 deaths.
• May 4: Indiana reports 583 more COVID-19 cases and 19 additional deaths. The stay-at-home order ends for most of Indiana. That order will end May 11 in Lake and Marion counties, and May 18 in Cass County.
• May 5: Indiana reports 21,033 positive COVID-19 cases and 1,213 deaths.
• May 6: Indiana reports 21,870 positive COVID-19 cases and 1,264 deaths. Ivy Tech Community College says it will continue virtual classes when summer courses begin in June.
• May 7: Indiana reports 22,503 positive COVID-19 cases and 1,295 deaths.
• May 8: Indiana reports 23,146 positive COVID-19 cases and 1,328 deaths. Cris Johnston, director of the Office of Budget and Management, said the state missed out on nearly $1 billion in anticipated April revenues. All state agencies will be given budget-cutting goals.
• May 9: Indiana reports 23,732 positive COVID-19 cases and 1,362 deaths.
• May 10: Indiana reports 24,126 COVID-19 cases in Indiana and 1,379 deaths.
• May 11: Indiana reports 24,627 COVID-19 cases in Indiana and 1,411 deaths.
• May 12: Indiana reports 25,127 COVID-19 cases in Indiana and 1,444 deaths.
• May 13: Indiana reports 25,473 COVID-19 cases in Indiana and 1,482 deaths. The first phase of a state-sponsored study of the coronavirus estimated about 186,000 Hoosiers had COVID-19 or the antibodies for the novel virus by May 1. Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett announced plans for limited reopenings of worship services, retail establishments, the libraries and restaurants.

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