Indiana reports another 492 COVID-19 cases, 21 more deaths

The Indiana State Department of Health on Saturday said the number of positive cases of COVID-19 in the state has risen to 30,901, following the emergence of 492 more cases.

The state reported 473 new cases on Friday, 662 on Thursday, 569 on Wednesday, 450 on Tuesday, 477 on Monday and 498 on Sunday.

The department said Friday that the cumulative death toll in the state rose to 1,812, up from 1,791 the previous day—an increase of 21.

More than 91% of the total deaths involve those who are age 60 or older. More than 75% of those who have died are older than 70. Only 3% of the deaths have involved someone younger than 50.

According to the report, 732 deaths—or 45% of the state’s total—involved long-term care facilities, as of May 18.

The state said 214,933 people have been tested so far, up from 208,561 in Friday’s report—an increase of 6,372.

Daily testing has topped 5,000 for 10 straight days and in 16 of the last 19 days.

The state said 14.4% of those tested so far have been positive for COVID-19.

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.

Health officials say Indiana has far more coronavirus cases—probably tens of thousands more—than those indicated by the number of official tests. A study announced May 13 estimated at least 186,000 Hoosiers have or had COVID-19 through the end of April.

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 on Saturday reported 9,040 cumulative cases—up from 8,928 the previous day, an increase of 112 cases.

The county’s cumulative death toll rose to 531, up from 528 in Thursday’s report.

The state said 46,634 people have been tested in the county.

As for surrounding counties, Hamilton had 1,092 positive cases; Johnson 1,065; Hendricks 1,103; Boone 279; Hancock 315; Madison 576; Morgan 257; and Shelby 311.

Pike County has five cases, but every other Indiana county has at least eight.

The department said 37.4% of the state’s intensive care unit beds were still available. About 15.7% are being used by COVID-19 patients.

The department also said 82.1% of the state’s ventilators were available, with 5.6% being used for COVID-19 patients.

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

As of Saturday morning, more than 1.6 million cases had been reported in the United States, with 96,125 deaths, according to a running tally maintained by health researchers at Johns Hopkins University & Medicine. More than 350,100 people have recovered.

More than 5.25 million cases have been reported globally, with 339,026 deaths. More than 2 million people have recovered.