No new Putnam cases as state COVID-19 numbers continue to rise

There were no new local COVID-19 diagnoses or deaths on Thursday, as Putnam County’s numbers held at two positive diagnoses and one death, which had been announced Wednesday afternoon.

However, the statewide numbers saw the biggest increase yet, with 336 new cases and seven new deaths.

The totals now stand at 981 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus and 24 resulting deaths.

The explosion in new positive test cases can partially be explained by increased testing, as the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) added to its numbers a total of 2,285 tests administered in Friday morning’s numbers.

This brought the number of Hoosiers who have been tested to 6,936 as of the end of the day on Thursday. The numbers reflect testing done through ISDH or reported to the department by the CDC and private laboratories. They should not be characterized as a comprehensive total.

The Indianapolis area continues to see the largest share of positive cases, with 484, along with 52 in Hamilton County to the north and 42 in Johnson County to the south.

Other “donut” counties includes Hendricks with 28 positive cases, Hancock with 13, Morgan with 10, Boone with seven and Shelby with six.

Elsewhere in the state, other high-population counties such as Lake (47 cases), St. Joseph (27 cases) and Allen (21 cases) are also among the leaders.

Another area with a high concentration is in southeast Indiana, where Decatur County has 26 cases, followed by 21 in Franklin and 14 in Ripley.

Among counties adjacent to Putnam, the Hendricks County total of 28 reflects seven new cases over the previous day, while Morgan saw an increase from seven to 10 cases. Owen (five total cases) and Montgomery (three total cases) each had one new positive test on Thursday.

Clay and Parke Counties still had no positive cases as of the end of the day Thursday.