HANCOCK COUNTY — The county crossed a grim milestone in the COVID-19 pandemic Thursday after reporting four new deaths, pushing its total to 103.
Two of the recent fatalities were age 80 or older, and two were in their 70s, according to the Indiana State Department of Health. Three were women and one was a man. Three of the deaths occurred on Jan. 19 and one on Jan. 18.
Fifty-five of the county’s COVID-19 fatalities were age 80 or older; 27 were in their 70s; 16 in their 60s; four in their 50s; and one in their 40s. Fifty-one were women, and 52 were men.
The county’s first COVID-19 death was on March 21, 2020. Monthly figures spiked to 17 in May before falling and slightly rising over the months that followed, leading to a jump in November that has plateaued ever since.
As of Thursday, January 2021 was tied with November 2020 for the county’s deadliest COVID-19 month, with 20 fatalities.
Craig Felty, vice president, chief operations officer and chief nursing officer for Hancock Regional Hospital, said he was saddened to see the county has lost more than 100 of its citizens to the novel coronavirus.
“I honestly do believe that we are again trending down in cases and hope to continue this course,” Felty added. “HRH is vaccinating as many as we have vaccine for and hope to increase that as well in the coming months.”
Until enough people become immune to the virus, Felty and his colleagues are imploring people to continue taking the precautions they’ve stressed since COVID-19 was first detected: avoid crowds, maintain social distancing, wear masks and maintain good hand hygiene.
Hancock County added 81 new COVID-19 cases Thursday, raising that total to 6,575. Another 682 new tests brought that total to 76,774. A total of 37,455 individuals in the county have been tested.
The county’s seven-day positivity rates from Jan. 8 to 14 were 11.1% for all tests and 16.7% for unique individuals. Cumulative rates are 10.3% for all tests and 17.6% for unique individuals.
Felty also said the hospital was treating 10 COVID-19 patients Thursday.
Indiana added 64 COVID-19 deaths Thursday, raising its total to 9,218. More than 3,700 new cases made for a total of almost 602,000. The state added almost 55,000 new tests and has administered a total of more than 6.6 million. Its seven-day positivity rates from Jan. 8 to 14 were 10.8% for all tests and 19.6% for unique individuals. Cumulative rates were also 10.8% for all tests, and 21% for unique individuals.
Almost a quarter of the intensive care beds in the state are being used for COVID-19 patients, and 27% are available.
The statewide COVID-19 hospital census Thursday was 2,303 patients, 1,845 of whom were confirmed to have the novel coronavirus and 458 under investigation.
