A spike in COVID-19 cases in a nearby county is being monitored by state health officials.
Cass County saw its positive cases more than double from Friday to Monday, according to statistics from the Indiana State Department of Health. More than 86 percent of the county’s tests have come back positive as of Tuesday’s report, compared to less than 18 percent for the state as a whole.
During state officials’ COVID-19 briefing Tuesday, State Health Commissioner Dr. Kris Box said her staff has been in Cass County to address COVID-19 cases at an industrial plant. “My state epi team has actually gone in to help Cass County’s local health department,” Box explained. “They’ve been doing an incredible job of tracking these cases down, but the numbers have become somewhat overwhelming. And I’ve been on phone calls, as has my state epidemiologist, not only with this particular plant, but also with the county commissioners, the local health department, and the local hospital there.”
Governor Eric Holcomb has also been involved in discussions. “I spoke to the, of this particular plant, the CEO this morning, and they have made all the necessary changes so that that is a safe working environment,” the governor said.
During Tuesday’s briefing, Box also shared some more details about COVID-19 cases in long-term care facilities. “We do have 199 facilities that have a total of 1,568 cases; unfortunately, 162 deaths in 74 different facilities,” Box said. But Box has continued to resist calls to publicly release a comprehensive list of facilities that have had COVID-19 and how many cases in each.
