Local public safety officials are reporting a COVID-19 outbreak at the county jail, where 28 people have tested positive for the disease.
The Johnson County jail reported Monday that 23 inmates and five employees have been diagnosed with COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. This comes after four inmates tested positive last week, said Duane Burgess, Johnson County sheriff.
Of the jail’s 300 inmates, 33 had been tested by Monday. About 30 jail employees were tested, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office.
The sheriff’s office is working with the Johnson County Health Department and an Indiana State Department of Health COVID-19 strike team to test all inmates and jail employees, according to the news release.
“The sheriff’s office is taking every precaution to keep inmates separated and quarantined and are utilizing the jail’s limited available space to its fullest efficiency,” Burgess said in the news release.
“As we have stated previously, and as demonstrated in this press release, we have been very open and transparent with all government health organizations and with the public. Our own medical unit is working diligently during this time and also communicating directly with those governmental health officials,” he said.
Johnson County health officials on Monday reported seven more coronavirus-related deaths, bringing the county’s death toll to 94.
Five of the newly reported deaths were Greenwood residents, and two were Franklin residents; they ranged in age from 62 to 92, said Betsy Swearingen, director of the Johnson County Health Department. Newly reported deaths are not necessarily new deaths.
The county health department also reported 39 more laboratory confirmed COVID-19 cases, bringing to 846 the number of cases in the county.
The Indiana State Department of Health on Monday said the number of positive cases for COVID-19 in the state has risen to 24,627 following the emergence of 501 more cases.
The state reported 394 new cases on Sunday, 586 on Saturday, 643 on Friday, 633 on Thursday, 837 on Wednesday and 526 on Tuesday.
The department said Monday that the cumulative death toll in the state rose to 1,411, up from 1,379 the previous day—an increase of 32.
More than 91% of the total deaths involve those who are age 60 or older. About 75% of those who have died are older than 70. Men account for 52% of the deaths.
The state reported that 146,688 people have been tested so far, up from 140,029 in Sunday’s report—an increase of 6,659. That’s the first time the state has reported more than 6,000 new tests in a daily report. The previous high was 5,558 in Saturday’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.
New positive cases, deaths and tests have occurred over a range of dates but were reported to the department in the previous day.
The department reported the state’s first case on March 6 and first death from COVID-19 on March 16.
Nearby Indianapolis reported 7,510 cumulative cases—up from 7,336 the previous day, an increase of 174 cases.
The city’s cumulative death toll rose to 423, up from 416 in Sunday’s report. The state said 35,084 people have been tested.
As for surrounding counties, Hamilton had 936 positive cases; Hendricks 973; Boone 226; Hancock 270; Madison 509; Morgan 208; and Shelby 272.
Every Indiana county has at least three cases.
The department said 42.6% of the state’s intensive care unit beds were still available. About 17.1% are being used by COVID-19 patients.
The department also said 81.1% of the state’s ventilators were available. About 7% were being used for COVID-19 patients.
Health officials say Indiana has far more coronavirus cases—possibly thousands more—than those indicated by the number of tests.
As of Monday morning, more than 1.33 million cases had been reported in the United States, with 79,607 deaths, according to a running tally maintained by health researchers at Johns Hopkins University & Medicine. More than 216,100 people have recovered.
More than 4.1 million cases have been reported globally, with 283,526 deaths. More than 1.38 million people have recovered.
The Indianapolis Business Journal contributed to this report.Â
