Most Hoosiers with COVID-19 never go to the hospital
Health officials examined about 8,000 coronavirus cases in Indiana and found about one-third visited an emergency room and about a quarter were hospitalized.
Health Care & Insurance
Dow climbs 705 points; S&P 500 has second straight week of gains
The Dow Jones industrial average soared 3% on Friday and other market indexes showed solid gains as investors latched onto hope about progress in the fight against the coronavirus and a restart of the economy.
UPDATE: Governor plans to extend stay-at-home order until May 1
Indiana has been under a stay-at-home order since March 25. The first order covered a two-week period and was extended another two weeks with a more restrictive order on April 6.
New pressure on lawmakers as virus aid for small businesses hits limit
Lawmakers are struggling to break a stalemate over President Donald Trump’s $250 billion emergency request for a small-business program, stoking uncertainty about when additional support will be available in a key rescue program now exhausted of funds.
Indiana reports rising number of COVID-19 cases for third straight day
The 612 new cases are the most the Indiana State Department of Health has reported in its daily update since the beginning of the pandemic.
Stocks rise worldwide, lifted by hopes for virus progress
Gilead Sciences jumped 12% following a report that one of its drugs was reducing fevers in patients at a single hospital. Its stock began jumping in after-hours trading Thursday following the report’s release.
Relief checks are a lifeline for some, a cushion for others
The Treasury Department says about 80 million Americans received their payments as of Wednesday. Millions more have signed up to get direct deposit, and paper checks will be distributed starting later this month.
COVID-19 to unleash torrent of lawsuits against insurers
Businesses and not-for-profits in Indiana and across the country have begun suing their insurers in coronavirus-related claims disputes—and attorneys predict a flood of additional cases will follow.
Glitches prevent rescue checks from reaching millions of Americans
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has instructed the Internal Revenue Service to get payments out as fast as possible, but numerous glitches are delaying payments and causing confusion.
These drugs could treat COVID-19, but silver bullet might not be found
The roster of potential therapies includes new antivirals, older antivirals, anti-inflammatory drugs, stem cell therapies, antiparasitic drugs, and even treatments for erectile dysfunction.
Pro-Trump protesters pushing back on stay-at-home orders
In Indiana, a group called the Indiana Conservative Alliance and Grassroots Conservatives is planning a rally Saturday in front of the governor’s mansion.
Layoffs, pay cuts now striking more white collar jobs
The record-setting flood of layoffs unleashed by the viral outbreak is extending beyond the services industries that bore the initial brunt.
Trump unveils phased approach to reopening economy
The recommendations make clear that the return to normalcy will be a far longer process than Trump initially envisioned, with federal officials warning that some social distancing measures may need to remain in place through the end of the year to prevent a new outbreak.
Independent contractors may have to wait until May to receive jobless benefits
The additional $600 in unemployment benefits could start arriving Friday for some Hoosiers, but independent contractors and gig economy workers may be waiting until next month to see any payments.
Indiana to partner with 6 other Midwestern states on reopening the economy—likely in early May
The Midwestern agreement includes Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois and Kentucky.
Indiana reports rising number of COVID-19 cases for second straight day
The state said Thursday that the cumulative death toll in the state rose to 477, up from 436 the previous day—an increase of 41 deaths.
Downtown hotel occupancy fell 91% as health crisis escalated
The entire market saw a 68% drop in occupancy from the week of March 1-7 to the week of March 29-April 4, according to data from Tennessee-based hotel research firm STR.
Government hits lending limit on small business program
With a key coronavirus rescue fund now exhausted, negotiations are accelerating in Washington over President Donald Trump’s $250 billion emergency request to help smaller employers across the country keep workers on their payroll.
Amazon CEO Bezos wants to test all employees for COVID-19
Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos said his company had assembled a team comprising scientists, managers and software engineers to build internal testing capacity, and hoped to build its first testing lab soon.
5.2 million more seek unemployment aid as U.S. layoffs spread
In Indiana, 118,184 claims were made in the week that ended April 11, down from 127,010. The state was typically seeing less than 3,000 claims per week before the outbreak.