ISDH: More than 500 COVID-19 cases, 32 additional deaths
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – On Monday, the Indiana Department of Health announced 511 more cases of COVID-19 and 32 more deaths.
In Indiana, there are currently 24,627 cases of COVID-19 and 1,411 deaths related to the virus.
According to the department, there have been 146,688 tests administered.
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 4,136,00 confirmed cases worldwide, with more than 1,422,000 recoveries and more than 283,000 deaths.
News conferences will be held on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, going forward. If there is significant news that needs to be shared, and state officials will hold additional briefing as needed, Gov. Eric Holcomb said Monday afternoon.
We’re ready to get back to work across state agencies, Holcomb said.
Box said about 17% of of the more than 100,000 tested Hoosiers have been positive for COVID-19.
ICU beds and ventilators still have a steady amount of availability.
Contact tracing begins in a centralized capacity from ISDH
Increased testing means increased contact tracing to identify people possibly exposed and ensure they are taking precautions to avoid infecting someone else, said Indiana health commissioner Dr. Kristina Box.
Contact tracing is a core part of any disease investigation and has been done in Indiana for more than a century: for TB, measles, mumps, HIV and outbreaks of foodborne illness. Box said this is different because it’s on a much broader scale with a different disease process. It’s something they’re legally authorized to do, and more importantly, ethically mandated to do, she said. Contact tracing allows the state to respond swiftly and contain the disease.
Contact tracing involves asking a series of questions to people who test positive for the virus, including when their symptoms started, where they went and who they might have been in contact with, Box said.
The centralized tracing group will get a list of people the infected person they might have had close contact with and contact those people to see if they have symptoms and to provide information that they need to keep themselves and others safe since they might have been exposed. At all times, we protect individuals’ privacy. We don’t release the name of the person who tested positive and don’t share personal information with others. All information is secured at the state level.
Traditionally, contact tracing has been done by local health departments, but starting Monday, the state’s centralized contact tracing system has begun.
The state, working with Maximus, has hired 325 tracers. A total of 500 people will be onboarded by the end of the month. Phase 1 starts Monday for 21 counties.
Box mentions state-sponsored testing sites around Indiana. There is no cost for this test. Box lists the criteria to get a test at one of the sites: if you have symptoms, if you live with someone who has symptoms, if you have been exposed to a positive case and need a test to go back to work, if you’re high risk — someone over 65, with diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, pregnant, a member of minority population at greater risk, or someone who lives with someone who is high risk. If you’re high-risk, you don’t need to be symptomatic to get tested for free at a state-sponsored sites.
Box reminded Hoosiers not to ignore health issues unrelated to COVID-19 and encouraged people to continue to get routine exams and checkups done.
Kids and coronavirus: Immunizations and ‘well child’ checks
Box says there has been a significant decline across the country and in Indiana of routine vaccines ordered and administered. Box said they believe parental concerns about COVID-19 has contributed to the decline.
Dr. Tony GiaQuinta, president of the Indiana Chapter of American Academy of Pediatrics, discussed the decrease in immunizations seen in Indiana — around a 30-40% decrease — and the importance of “well child” visits.
GiaQuinta said the delays in immunization introduces the risk of the emergence of infectious diseases. Indiana has a high rate of “herd immunity” because we have a high rate of child vaccination.
“We are open for children and your pediatrician needs to see you in their office,” GiaQuinta said.
Box and GiaQuinta also discusses important elements of “well child” visits, including development, physical and mental health screenings.
Teens and adolescents rely on strong social bonds, and when those are taken away, that does increase their anxiety and causes an increased risk of depression. They also react to adults’ mental health around them, GiaQuinta said.
GiaQuinta said that statewide, offices are ensuring visits are safe. Many offices have split appointments by morning and afternoon so that well visits and sick visits don’t interact. Others are skipping waiting rooms completely to avoid contact. He also said many doctors are using telemedicine to address what they can over the phone.
Questions
Box, in answer to a question about an increase in positive cases as the state entered Phase 2, said the state knew they would see additional cases as they increased testing. That’s why they have used several other metrics, including hospitalization data, Box said.
About a report that utility companies are petitioning to collect lost revenues, Holcomb said that’s why the state has the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission. It will go before the IURC.
About presumptive positive cases, Box said the state has a little over 100 cases and won’t be providing a further breakdown about them. She said the COVID-19 test is not perfect. If the test is positive, you have COVID-19, but if it’s negative, you could sometimes still have the virus. Box said we have to look at the whole clinical picture and let health care professionals help us understand how a person died: If they include the virus in the death certificate, we include it.
Holcomb said the reports he’d received about people following virus guidelines have been “a mixed bag.” He has been heartened by reports of people doing the right thing.
Joe Heerens, general counsel for the governor, said that since the start of the “Stay at home” order, there have been 1,458 complaints, 1,266 of those investigated and determined to be unfounded and 138 verbal warnings issued. Those businesses that were warned have complied. A business in Benton County was warned and did not comply. Unfortunately, the state issued its first cease-and-desist letter, and the business came into compliance over the weekend.
Box said she does not believe the number of deaths from COVID-19 has been inflated or incorrectly categorized in Indiana. If an individual passes away, and they have a positive COVID-19 test and that was felt to be the reason for this death, then they will call that a COVID-19 death. If the individual, on their death certificate, the health care professional said that COVID-19 was a contributor to their death, then that will be a COVID-19 death. And ISDH separates cases where the person did not have a positive test.
Dr. Mike Kaufmann, Indiana EMS director, talked about the kinds of runs they are seeing and how those calls are handled. They’re looking at trends in those calls and looking at overall prevalence in different parts across the state to determine how to allocate resources
Box said the state does not release the name of person who is positive during contact tracing. Sometimes people figure it out or reach out to see if their friends are ill, but the state cannot force someone to say who they have been in contact with or where they’ve been. She said she has not heard reports of issues with people refusing to share information.
Box said there is a recently approved emergency use authorization for at-home saliva tests but it is not widespread and there’s only one approved test at this time.
We’re starting to see more tests for antibodies. FDA has pulled back on some of those tests because some were testing for multiple COVID strains, including just the common cold, which all of us would probably test positive for.
Box and Holcomb addressed a question about why campgrounds and gyms are included in a later phase, discussing the need to have resources in place to protect people in places where the virus can spread easily.