Three more people have died in Indiana from coronavirus-related illnesses, increasing the state’s virus death toll to 35, state health officials said Monday.
Locally, 92 Johnson County residents have 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.
Indiana’s number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 grew by 273 to 1,786, the Indiana State Department of Health said. The state now has nearly seven times the number of confirmed cases as a week ago, while the number of deaths is five times greater.
Two of the new deaths involved Indianapolis residents, while the other person who died was from southeastern Indiana’s Franklin County.
Indianapolis had the most new cases at 135, while Hamilton County in suburban Indianapolis had 20 and northwestern Indiana’s Lake County had 12.
Dr. Kristina Box, the state health commissioner, said Friday that Indiana’s peak of coronavirus illnesses is expected in mid- to late April.
A statewide stay-at-home order issued by Gov. Eric Holcomb took effect Wednesday, with exemptions for essential businesses to remain open and for necessary trips for food and medicine.
For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, or death.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
