County COVID-19 count reaches triple digits

<p>More than 100 local residents have tested positive for a potentially deadly virus that’s sweeping the state, state health officials said Tuesday.</p><p>Locally, 114 Johnson County residents had tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, said Betsy Swearingen, director of the Johnson County Health Department. Three Greenwood residents, all over the age of 75, have died.</p><p>Indiana’s number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 grew by 374 to 2,159, according to the Indiana State Department of Health.</p><p>The death toll in the state has risen to 49, up from 35 the previous day, the state health department said.</p><p>The virus is not confined to certain areas of the county, Swearingen said Tuesday.</p><p>&quot;There are no clusters. We are at the point of community spread,&quot; she said. &quot;Obviously, the more heavily populated areas of the county are going to have a higher case count.&quot;</p><p>In Franklin, a COVID-19 outbreak has occurred at a senior care facility. At least 16 residents, three employees and one contracted therapist are confirmed to have the virus, with some tests still pending. Those results weren’t back by Tuesday afternoon, said David Sease, spokesperson for Otterbein Franklin. </p><p>Eight of those residents are hospitalized; seven are in isolation at Otterbein; and one returned home, Otterbein officials have said.</p><p>Through a partnership with Eli Lilly, Otterbein is testing all of its employees. Otterbein Franklin’s medical director will test all employees prioritized by role, with direct caregivers being first, Sease said Monday.</p><p>The outbreak originated last week with a therapist who was admitted to the hospital and tested positive. Otterbein Franklin has more than 500 residents, 165 of whom are in the nursing home where the outbreak has occurred, and about 300 employees.</p><p>The state health department on Tuesday reported that 13,373 people have been tested so far, up from 11,658 in Monday’s report. The ISDH said the test numbers reflect only those tests reported to the department and the numbers should not be characterized as a comprehensive total.</p><p>Nearby Marion County reported 964 cases—up 160 cases from the previous day—with 17 deaths.</p><p>Every county in the Indianapolis area has at least a dozen cases each. More than 80 of Indiana’s 92 counties have reported cases.</p><p>The health department is providing case updates daily at about 10 a.m. based on results received through 11:59 p.m. the previous day.</p><p>Health officials say Indiana has far more coronavirus cases—possibly thousands more—than those indicated by the number of tests.</p><p>As of Tuesday morning, 164,719 cases had been reported in the United States, with 3,170 deaths, according to a running tally maintained by health researchers at Johns Hopkins University &amp;amp; Medicine.</p><p>More than 803,300 cases have been reported globally, with 39,014 deaths. More than 172,650 people have recovered.</p><p><em>The Indianapolis Business Journal contributed to this report.</em></p>