HANCOCK COUNTY — The state on Monday reported that Hancock County was up to 72 recorded positive COVID-19 cases, up from 41 on Friday.
That includes 16 new cases recorded Saturday and 11 Monday, the two biggest 24-hour jumps since the virus was first reported in the county on March 22.
But those shouldn’t be viewed as alarming spikes, said Steve Long, president and CEO of Hancock Regional Hospital.
“It is really all about reporting and the turnaround time to get results back,” he said.
For example, the 16 cases recorded Saturday were from tests administered on seven different days, Long continued.
“The actual trend, while it is still steep, is not nearly as steep as one would anticipate,” he said.
The multiple sources conducting and processing COVID-19 tests for Hancock County residents are getting quicker at reporting results, Long said. Up until last weekend, that turnaround averaged about nine days, he continued, adding now it’s down to two to three. He said he anticipates spikes like the one over the weekend to continue throughout the next week as the testing backlog gets caught up.
Total tests in Hancock County stood at 400 on Monday, almost doubling the figure reported on Friday, according to the Indiana State Department of Health.
While Hancock County makes up about 4% of central Indiana’s population, it currently represents about 2.4% of the region’s recorded COVID-19 cases, Long also said. That may be because Hancock County has one of the smaller, more spread-out populations in the region, he continued, but he also credits local leadership with getting “on the ball right away” with restrictions in lockstep with the state.
“There’s no way that it can’t be working,” Long said of the social distancing that’s been occurring, although adding he would like to see parking lots less full at local big-box stores.
The Hancock County Health Department released updated demographic information on the county’s recorded positive COVID-19 cases on Monday. Cases among those age 50 to 59 rose to 25% from 16.67% the week before, making it the biggest 10-year age group. It’s also the biggest 10-year age group for state cases, at 20.2%.
Long said he expects local demographics to continue to follow Indiana’s and the country’s.
“As we get more data, it’s going to be more closely aligned with the state and national data,” he said.
Those 30 to 39 made up the biggest 10-year age group in Hancock County as of March 30, at 29.17%, before dropping to 20.83% as of April 6.
“It’s a reminder for the younger folks that the disease itself does not discriminate that much by age,” Long said. “Anybody can get it.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says adults 65 and older are at higher risk for severe illness. Hancock County coronavirus cases age 60 and older went from making up a third of the county’s cases last week to just more than a quarter as of Monday. Statewide, that group totaled 36.7%.
Hancock County still has more recorded COVID-19 cases in men than women as of this week, but the gap tightened by about 3 percentage points for a 55.56%/44.44% split.
The state’s gender demographics have flipped from last week, with female cases going form 34% to 55%.
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Hancock County COVID-19 data as of 11:59 p.m. April 5
Total positive cases: 72
Deaths: 2
Total tests: 400
Positive case demographics
Age
- 80+: 8.33%
- 70-79: 8.33%
- 60-69: 9.72%
- 50-59: 25%
- 40-49: 20.83%
- 30-39: 20.83%
- 20-29: 5.56%
- 0-19: 1.39%
Gender
- Female: 44.44%
- Male: 55.56%
Sources: Indiana State Department of Health, Hancock County Health Department
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Indiana COVID-19 data as of 11:59 p.m. April 5
Total positive cases: 4,944
Total deaths: 139
Total tested: 26,191
Statewide positive case demographics
Age ranges
- 0-19: 1.6%
- 20-29: 10.6%
- 30-39: 14%
- 40-49: 16.9%
- 50-59: 20.2%
- 60-69: 17.2%
- 70-79: 11.6%
- 80+: 7.9%
Gender
- Female: 54.8%
- Male: 45.2%
Statewide death demographics
- 0-19: 0%
- 20-29: 0%
- 30-39: 2.2%
- 40-49: 1.4%
- 50-59: 7.9%
- 60-69: 18.7%
- 70-79: 30.9%
- 80+: 38.8%
Gender
- Female: 39.6%
- Male: 60.4%
Source: Indiana State Department of Health
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U.S. COVID-19 data as of 4 p.m. April 5
- Cases: 304,826
- Deaths: 7,616
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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