State reports 688 more COVID-19 cases, five more deaths

The Indiana State Department of Health on Monday made major changes to the way it is reporting COVID-19 testing data to the public.

The department said it now has begun including antigen tests in its results. It previously had reported only the results of polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, tests. PCR tests have been considered by many in the field as the “gold standard” for COVID-19 testing.

The inclusion of antigen tests will alter the overall and seven-day testing-positivity rates that the department reports on a daily basis.

“Today, 16,215 antigen tests and 975 positive cases from July 28 through Aug. 22 are being added to the cumulative reports,” the department said in Monday’s report. “Moving forward, antigen cases and testing from the most recent 24-hour period will be included in the daily reports. Tests and cases from prior to July 28 will be added to the cumulative reports once they are verified.”

Following are the latest COVID-19 numbers from the Indiana State Department of Health. The department updates its data daily based on information received through 11:59 p.m. the previous day.

COVID-19 cases

*New cases: 688

Total cumulative cases reported Monday: 87,592**

Total cumulative cases reported Sunday: 85,932

Increase in cumulative cases: 1,660**

Increase in cases reported July 1-Aug. 1: 21,170

Increase in cases reported June 1-July 1: 11,122

Increase in cases reported May 1-June. 1: 16,200

**Includes 975 positive cases from antigen tests July 28 through Aug. 22 that were previously not included in the cumulative totals.

COVID-19 deaths

New deaths: 5

Total deaths: 3,008

Increase in deaths reported July 1-Aug. 1: 315

Increase in deaths reported June 1-July 1: 480

Increase in deaths reported May 1-June. 1: 914

COVID-19 testing

*New tested individuals: 8,092

Total cumulative tested individuals reported Monday: 1,002,038***

Total cumulative tested individuals reported Sunday: 977,802***

Increase in cumulative tested individuals: 24,236***

Overall positivity rate unique individuals: 8.7%***

Seven-day positivity rate unique individuals: 7.2%***

Increase in tests reported July 1-Aug. 1: 268,890

Increase in tests reported June 1-July 1: 223,820

Increase in tests reported May 1-June. 1: 166,257

***The department has begun including antigen tests in its data, a change that has drastically affected the cumulative testing numbers and the testing-positivity rates.

County numbers

Marion County cumulative cases: 17,593 (increase of 169)

Marion County new deaths: 0

Marion County cumulative deaths: 743

Marion County 7-day positivity rate: 5.5%***

Hamilton County cumulative cases: 3,529

Hendricks County cumulative cases: 2,171

Johnson County cumulative cases: 1,942

Madison County cumulative cases: 1,201

Boone County cumulative cases: 785

Hancock County cumulative cases: 777

Morgan County cumulative cases: 553

Shelby County cumulative cases: 607

Indiana intensive care unit usage

Available ICU beds: 43.9%

ICU beds in use by COVID-19 patients: 10.7%

Available ventilators: 83.7%

Ventilators in use for COVID-19: 2.6%

U.S. and worldwide numbers

As of Monday, from Johns Hopkins University:

U.S. cases: 5,709,839

U.S. deaths: 176,744

Global cases: 23,499,048

Global deaths: 809,834

*New cases, deaths and tests are previously unreported cases, deaths and tests submitted to the Indiana State Health Department in the 24 hours through 11:59 p.m. the previous day. The cases and testing categories typically contain numerous duplicates—as many as 20% or more—that are later eliminated from the cumulative totals.