HANCOCK COUNTY — The county’s COVID-19 advisory level was upgraded Wednesday to a less severe status, but it still shows indicators of a high level of community spread of the virus.
After two weeks in red — the Indiana State Department of Health’s most severe advisory level and representing very high community spread — Hancock County is now orange.
The state health department assigns advisory level colors based on scores derived from two metrics, one of which is weekly cases per 100,000 residents. The other is seven-day positivity rates for all tests, although Dr. Kristina Box, Indiana state health commissioner, said Tuesday that those have been calculated incorrectly.
Box said the state will correct an error next week in its calculation of seven-day and all-time COVID-19 positivity rates. The state will also make a change in the methodology used to calculate seven-day positivity rates for counties.
“While the error will impact our positivity rate, I want to reassure you that the number of cases per 100,000 individuals, the positive tests that we have sent to contact tracers, our deaths and our overall test counts are not impacted by this error,” Box said.
The error was discovered in the software coding used to calculate positivity rates and has existed since the state began reporting the data, she continued.
In the past, the state added each day’s positivity rate for seven days and divided by seven to get a week’s positivity rate. The state will now add all of the positive tests for a week and divide by the total tests done that week to determine the week’s positivity rate.
“This will help to minimize the effect that a high variability in the number of tests done each day can have on the week’s overall positivity, especially for our smaller counties,” Box said.
The changes will be made on Wednesday, Dec. 30, the next time the state’s weekly county metric map is updated.
“Both will impact our state positivity rate as well as the metrics of some of our counties,” Box said. “Our state positivity rate will be higher and we expect that there will be a mixed impact for our counties.”
Box also apologized for the error.
“Unfortunately, like this virus, much of what we have been doing has never been done in real time by health departments across the country, so we’re learning and we’re making adjustments to bring Hoosiers the best information that we can.”
County advisory levels are updated every Wednesday with data through the previous Sunday.
While Hancock County had a seven-day positivity rate for all tests of 14.22%, up from the previous week’s 13.5%, it was able to decrease its overall weekly two-metric score by having 594 weekly cases per 100,000 residents, down from the previous week’s 767.
A county must decrease its weekly two-metric score for at least two consecutive weeks to move down to a lower advisory level.
All of the advisory levels for Indiana counties are orange or red.
Hancock County added a COVID-19 death Wednesday, raising its total to 78. The fatality was a woman age 80 or older who died on Dec. 19.
The state also updated COVID-19 data at long-term care facilities Wednesday with information through Dec. 16. Greenfield Healthcare Center added another resident case and death, raising those totals to 78 and 22, respectively. It was the first resident COVID-19 case and death reported at the facility since June, following an outbreak there that began in April.
Springhurst Health Campus’ parent company reported on its website Wednesday that 16 of the facility’s 112 residents and nine of its 108 active employees were COVID-19 positive or presumed positive. The website also reported one cumulative COVID-19 related death among employees and residents.
Golden LivingCenter-Brandywine in Greenfield, which recently experienced a COVID-19 outbreak, had no residents or employees known to have the virus as of Tuesday, according to the company’s website. A total of 22 of the facility’s residents have died from the virus.
The state’s dashboard also reported fewer than five new cases contributed to totals of fewer than five among staff at Woodland Terrace of New Palestine and McCordsville-based Pleasant View Lodge. CrownPointe of Greenfield reported fewer than five new staff cases, raising its total to five; and fewer than five new resident cases, for a total of fewer than five.
Hancock Regional Hospital reported it was treating 16 COVID-19 patients Wednesday, nearly doubling the total reported Monday.
Hospitals across the state, including Hancock Regional Hospital, started vaccinating front-line health-care workers with a COVID-19 vaccine made by Pfizer last week. Dr. Lindsay Weaver, chief medical officer for the state health department, said Tuesday that by the end of the day, about 40,000 would have been vaccinated in Indiana and that another 50,000 are scheduled through Jan. 4. The state has more than 400,000 health care workers.
Front-line health care workers and long-term care facility residents make up the the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Committee on Immunization Practices’ Phase 1A of recommended COVID-19 vaccinations. This past weekend, the committee recommended people age 75 and older and front-line essential workers make up Phase 1B and that Phase 1C be made up of people age 65 to 74; people 16 to 74 with high-risk medical conditions; and other essential workers.
States create their own vaccination plans, and Weaver said Indiana leaders will once again consult with the state’s external vaccine advisory committee to determine next steps.
“Right now we are 100% focused on vaccinating all of our health-care providers, and we expect that focus to remain the same for much of January,” Weaver said.
She added vaccinations will begin for residents of long-term care facilities through a partnership with CVS and Walgreens next week.
Weaver said the state has put in an allocation order for a COVID-19 vaccine made by Moderna that recently received an emergency use authorization, and is awaiting conformation on when doses will start to be shipped.
During the same media briefing on Tuesday, U.S. Sen. Todd Young, R-Indiana, talked about the spending package combined with the COVID-19 relief bill that Congress recently approved.
“It’s one that will significantly assist … our business community, our front-line workers, our families, all of those Hoosiers who need assistance,” Young said.
The bill calls for direct payments of $600 per individual and up to $2,400 per family as well as assistance for small businesses, another draw of the Paycheck Protection Program and extended federal unemployment insurance benefits, among other forms of help.
President Donald Trump has expressed opposition to the bill, however, and has called the individual payments too low.
Gov. Eric Holcomb said Tuesday he will extend an executive order for 90 days allowing retired health-care professionals, health-care students and some out-of-state health-care professionals to continue helping in the pandemic who are not currently licensed in Indiana. He said he’ll be extending the Indiana National Guard’s assistance at long-term care facilities as well.
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COVID-19 data through early Wednesday, Dec. 23
Hancock County
- 680 new tests administered (July 29-Dec. 22)
- 73 new cases (Oct. 30-Dec. 22)
- 14.3% seven-day (Dec. 10-16) positivity rate all tests, 7.6% cumulative rate
- 1 new death (Dec. 19)
- 60,363 total tests administered
- 32,263 total individuals tested
- 4,691 total cases
- 23.3% seven-day (Dec. 10-16) positivity rate unique individuals, 14.5% cumulative rate
- 78 total deaths
Indiana
- 46,249 new tests administered (June 22-Dec. 22), 11,875 new individuals tested
- 4,731 new cases (Oct. 26-Dec. 22)
- 12.1% seven-day (Dec. 10-16) positivity rate all tests, 8% cumulative rate
- 62 new deaths (Aug. 19-Dec. 22)
- 5,376,575 total tests administered
- 2,556,493 total individuals tested
- 476,538 total cases
- 24% seven-day (Dec. 10-16) positivity rate unique individuals, 18.6% cumulative rate
- 7,306 total deaths
- 339 total probable deaths
- 47.8% ICU beds in use – non-COVID
- 31.2% ICU beds in use – COVID
- 21% ICU beds available
- 16.6% ventilators in use – non-COVID
- 13% ventilators in use – COVID
- 70.4% ventilators availble
- Hospital census: 3,123 total COVID-19 patients (2,677 confirmed, 446 under investigation)
Source: Indiana State Department of Health
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