Indiana COVID-19/Coronavirus cases now 645; 17 have died

The Indiana State Department of Health says Indiana now has 645 confirmed cases of COVID-19/Coronavirus, and 17 have died from it in the Hoosier state according to Thursday’s statistics. Tests have been given to 4,651 Hoosiers.

Monroe County how has 6 cases.

As The Bloomingtonian has noted before, these statistics are flawed, and there are likely many more cases in the state due to a lack of testing in the past, and the fact some are asymptomatic and can shed the virus for days before showing symptoms. There is also a lag time between testing, and results, so these statistics likely reflect the situation days ago, and this virus infects at a very high rate. On March 16th the state only had 24 cases.

Indiana is currently under a lockdown, but the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department arrested a 20-year-old man yesterday for OWI, and cited him for violation of a local disaster emergency order. Some people are not taking the stay-at-home order seriously, and are making unessential trips from their homes.

Yesterday, there were 477 cases in Indiana, and now there are 168 more cases, and each person likely infects at least two more people according to the CDC. The idea of having people say home is to flatten the curve. The United States does not have enough intensive care units in its hospitals to handle a spike in severe cases, so hospital workers will be faced with deciding who lives, and who dies. The purpose of the stay-at-home order is to flatten the curve, save lives, and spread out the infections so our healthcare system can handle the number of patients.

A reminder, the Monroe County Health Department posted the following recommendations:

  • Stay informed with accurate information.
  • Use social distancing and keep 6 foot between you and others
  • Cover your coughs and sneezes. Use a tissue once, then throw away
  • Clean your hands often with soap and water for 20 seconds or use hand sanitizer
  • Avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands
  • Don’t share household items
  • Clean all “high touch” surfaces and objects daily
  • Monitor your health
  • Stay home when sick, except to get medical care. Call ahead before visiting your doctor.

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