HANCOCK COUNTY — Daily COVID-19 infections in the county topped 50 for the first time Thursday, as Greenfield’s mayor and police chief confirmed that they have tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
The Indiana State Department of Health reported 53 new COVID-19 cases for Hancock County, raising the total to 1,496. The latest cases were confirmed on Wednesday, according to the state’s online COVID-19 dashboard. More than 100 new cases have been reported this week.
Dr. Sandra Aspy, Hancock County health officer, said she expects the spikes will lead the state to raise the county’s COVID-19 metric next week to moderate to high community spread. The state health department updates all 92 counties’ spread metrics every Wednesday based on recent weekly cases per 100,000 residents and seven-day positivity rates for all tests.
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While Hancock County kept its designation of moderate community spread this week, most of the state’s counties are now rated moderate to high.
Aspy urged residents to wear masks; keep their hands clean; socially distance; answer calls from contact tracers if contacted; and protect vulnerable populations like those 65 and older and those with existing medical conditions.
“We know what works is wearing a mask; maintaining distance; avoiding groups; and frequent hand washing/sanitizing; and good contact tracing and testing,” she said.
Greenfield Mayor Chuck Fewell said he tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday after developing a slight headache Saturday night and feeling worse on Sunday. He said at no time has he had a fever, only a headache and some discomfort in his chest.
Fewell said he’s not sure how he became infected.
“I wish I did,” he said. “I really have no inkling.”
He said he didn’t feel comfortable going in to City Hall on Monday and that protocols the city has in place emphasize that employees feeling sick should not come in and should be tested for COVID-19.
“Having put that in place, I felt it was my duty to follow through,” Fewell said, adding he notified his staff after testing positive.
He hopes to get tested again next Wednesday or Thursday and that it comes back negative so he can return to work. Until then, he’s staying home.
“The city’s being run just the way it is, quite frankly, and I’m certainly not on vacation, but as if I was on vacation,” he said. “…We have those safeguards in place to make sure the city runs right down the line the way it should be.”
At next week’s board of works meeting, another board member will run the session — the same protocol that’s always been in place for when Fewell can’t be in attendance. The city council’s president will run next week’s council meeting, Fewell added. He also praised the city’s department heads for the work they do leading their respective departments.
Fewell said he’s keeping in touch with his assistant as well. He hasn’t needed to sign any documents yet since remaining at home, but if he does, they’d be delivered to his porch so that they can be signed and returned there for pickup.
He said city departments and offices have been following the lead of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as Gov. Eric Holcomb throughout the pandemic.
Fewell encouraged people to get tested if they’re experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, which include fever or chills; cough; shortness of breath or difficulty breathing; fatigue; muscle or body aches; headache; new loss of taste or smell; sore throat; congestion or runny nose; nausea or vomiting; and diarrhea.
“I just want people to understand if they see these symptoms — go get checked,” he said. “…If they feel something, then go get checked, because the quicker we find this and eradicate it, the better off we’re all going to be in the future.”
There are several locations to get tested in Hancock County, including Hancock Health’s immediate care centers, First Care in Greenfield and the Indiana Army National Guard armory in Greenfield. Details about testing locations across the state are available at coronavirus.in.gov.
Greenfield Police Chief Jeff Rasche confirmed Thursday that he has tested positive for COVID-19 as well, but declined to comment further.
Hancock County didn’t add any COVID-19 deaths Thursday, keeping that total at 45. Another 429 new tests administered raised that total to 32,121. More than 20,720 individuals in the county have been tested.
The county’s seven-day positivity rate for all tests Oct. 23 through 29 is 8.8%, and the cumulative rate is 4.6%. Its seven-day positivity rate for unique individuals Oct. 23 through 29 is 14.2%, and the cumulative rate is 7.2%.
Indiana set a single-day record of newly reported COVID-19 cases for the second straight day Thursday as the state surpassed 4,000 new cases for the first time and coronavirus hospitalizations also surged to a new high, state health officials said.
The new records came one day after Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb, who has continued resisting calls for reinstating coronavirus limits he largely lifted in September, said following his landslide reelection victory that he’s not making any changes to state policy on handling COVID-19.
The 4,462 new COVID-19 cases the Indiana State Department of Health reported Thursday were the state’s highest single-day level of the pandemic, eclipsing the previous record of 3,756 new cases officials reported Wednesday.
The state agency’s daily statistics update also showed that Indiana had 1,948 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Wednesday. That’s the largest number Indiana has seen since officials began releasing those counts last spring, early in the pandemic, and exceeds the 1,897 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Tuesday.
State health officials also added 45 more coronavirus-related deaths to Indiana’s pandemic toll Thursday, raising it to 4,511, including confirmed and presumed coronavirus infections.
Indiana’s seven-day rolling average of daily deaths stood at 29 on Wednesday, representing one of the highest levels since May and nearly double from a month ago, statistics showed.
Holcomb, who won a second term as governor on Tuesday by defeating Democrat Woody Myers and Libertarian Donald Rainwater, said Wednesday he’s not making any changes to COVID-19 policy, including no statewide closure of schools.
Myers, a former state health commissioner, had called for tougher anti-virus actions as Indiana’s COVID-19 hospitalizations, deaths and new infections climbed steeply since nearly all state restrictions were lifted in September.
