State reports 643 more COVID-19 cases as testing hits new high

The Indiana State Department of Health on Friday said the number of positive cases for COVID-19 in the state has risen to 23,146 following the emergence of 643 more cases.

The state reported 633 new cases on Thursday, 837 on Wednesday, 526 on Tuesday, 574 on Monday, 638 on Sunday and 665 on Saturday.

The state said Friday that the cumulative death toll in the state rose to 1,328, up from 1,295 the previous day — an increase of 33.

About 91% of the total deaths involve those who are age 60 or older. More than 74% of those who have died are older than 70. Men account for 52.2% of the deaths.

The state reported that 130,128 people have been tested so far, up from 124,782 in Thursday’s report — an increase of 5,346. That’s the first time new tests have exceeded 5,000 in the department’s daily report.

The ISDH said the test numbers reflect only those tests reported to the department and the numbers should not be characterized as a comprehensive total.

New positive cases, deaths and tests have occurred over a range of dates but were reported to the department in the previous day.

The department reported the state’s first case on March 6 and first death from COVID-19 on March 16.

Marion County reported 7,078 cumulative cases — up from 6,914 the previous day, an increase of 164 cases.

The state reported 403 cumulative deaths in Marion County, up from 398 in Thursday’s report.

The state said 32,134 people have been tested in the county.

As for surrounding counties, Hendricks County had 927 cases; Hamilton 902; Johnson 769; Madison 479; Hancock 246; Shelby 250; Boone 214; and Morgan 182.

Every Indiana county has at least two cases.

Elsewhere, these Indiana counties reported at least 175 cases: Lake 2,359; Cass 1,497; Allen 781; St. Joseph 773; Elkhart 410; Clark 358; Bartholomew 331; LaPorte 307; Porter 303; Jackson 251; Howard 234; Floyd 226; Delaware 214; Decatur 210; Tippecanoe 207; and Vanderburgh 175.

Cass County has one of the nation’s highest reported per-capita COVID-19 infection rates. The Omaha World-Herald reported May 3 the county of about 37,700 residents had a rate of 308 cases per 10,000 people, seventh-highest in the US at that time. The rate since then has risen to 397 cases per 10,000 people, according to the Department of Health.

Many of the cases are linked to a Tyson Foods plant outbreak in Logansport last month. The plant has since reopened.

The department said 39.9% of the state’s intensive care unit beds were still available. About 17.7% are being used by COVID-19 patients.

The department also said 81.1% of the state’s ventilators were available. About 7% were being used for COVID-19 patients.

The health department is providing case updates online daily at noon based on results received through 11:59 p.m. the previous day.

Health officials say Indiana has far more coronavirus cases — possibly thousands more — than those indicated by the number of tests.

As of Friday morning, nearly 1.26 million cases had been reported in the United States, with 75,858 deaths, according to a running tally maintained by health researchers at Johns Hopkins University & Medicine. More than 195,000 people have recovered.

Nearly 3.9 million cases have been reported globally, with 270,537 deaths. Nearly 1.3 million people have recovered.