County up to 95 COVID-19 cases; 64 have recovered

Friday, May 15, 2020

Putnam County officials announced Friday there have been 95 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the county.

This was an increase of one case since Thursday.

According to the Putnam County Health Department, 64 people have recovered from the virus.

Additional updates include:

• OptumServe is offering FREE COVID-19 tests in Putnam County.

OptumServe is testing high-risk Hoosiers showing symptoms of COVID-19 or in direct contact with someone who has the virus. Visit https://pchosp.org/testing-site-opens-may-13/ to learn who should be tested. Registration is required at https://lhi.care/covidtesting or (888) 634-1116.

Testing is available Monday through Friday through June 5.

Note that with the increase in testing, it’s possible that the number of cases in the county will increase.

OptumServe has tested 84 people at its Putnam County testing site since May 13. The testing site is open to residents from Putnam and the surrounding counties, so not all of the individuals tested are Putnam County residents.

You may hear from the State’s contractor for contact tracing if you have come into contact with an individual who tests positive at the OptumServe test site. Expanded contact tracing is critical to stopping the spread of the virus into the community.

Be alert for emails or text messages that come from a different area code. Don’t ignore these messages.

• Estimates from a recent study show 2.8 percent of Hoosiers have COVID-19.

The Indiana State Department of Health and IU’s Fairbanks School of Public Health shared results from a recent study of 4,600 randomly selected Hoosiers who were tested for viral infection and antibodies of SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

The results include:

- 1.7 percent tested positive for COVID-19 and an additional 1.7 percent tested positive for antibodies.

-45 percent people tested were asymptomatic.

- The infection-fatality rate is .58 percent, nearly six times more deadly than the seasonal flu.

Based on their analysis of the data, researchers estimate that 2.8 percent – or 186,000 people – were actively or had been previously infected by May 1, 2020.

Visit https://news.iu.edu/stories/2020/05/iupui/releases/13-preliminary-findings-impac... to learn more.

• Bring a mask from home when out in public and wear it. Practice social distancing, too.

Contact Putnam County’s Masked Mommas if you need a mask. Our dedicated community volunteers have made and distributed thousands of masks.

Visit https://www.facebook.com/Putnam-County-Mask-Mommas-Sew-Serve-100134314992282/ for a mask.

It is imperative individuals take action to avoid COVID-19 to prevent its spread. A number of preventive steps include:

• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60 percent alcohol.

• Don’t touch your eyes, nose, or mouth, especially with unwashed hands.

• Avoid close contact with people who are showing symptoms of illness.

• Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.

• Cover your cough or sneezes with a tissue or sneeze into your elbow.

• Throw the tissue in the garbage and make sure to clean your hands afterwards.

• Stay home when you are sick.

• Wear face coverings in public when performing essential duties.

• We are all in this together.

To learn more about Putnam County’s coordinated response to COVID-19, please visit the Putnam County Hospital at www.pchosp.org/covid-19-updates or the Putnam County Health Department at www.putnamhealthindiana.org.

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  • 95 cases in Putnam County as of today (Friday). 64 have recovered. Is this to say that 31 have died from it? Or could we report how many of the 31 are still sick, and how many have passed due to the virus? Please report ALL of the statistics rather than a select "fear invoking few"!

    -- Posted by FactswithoutBS on Fri, May 15, 2020, at 8:11 PM
  • The death count has been reported here over and over. Scroll back a bit and you can see it easily. From that you can infer that the rest are either still sick or haven’t reported status yet.

    -- Posted by techphcy on Fri, May 15, 2020, at 9:18 PM
  • Actually, the info you seek has been provided.

    -- Posted by beg on Fri, May 15, 2020, at 11:41 PM
  • Thanks for showing the number recovered in these articles. It's nice to see some encouraging info instead of the usual doom and gloom!

    -- Posted by tmgould on Sat, May 16, 2020, at 8:38 AM
  • Still would like the Board of health to list total deaths from the virus in Putnam County. They post privacy laws but not asking for names just total number!

    Senior Townee

    -- Posted by senior townee on Sat, May 16, 2020, at 10:37 AM
  • Senior,

    they have done that. see previous articles

    -- Posted by beg on Sat, May 16, 2020, at 2:51 PM
  • This is the site that I believe the Banner is using for it's stats:

    https://www.coronavirus.in.gov/2393.htm

    You can look county by county at the current situation. Right now there are 117 positive cases in Putnam County, 5 reported deaths (which they told us before), and 967 total tested. The positive tests just jumped up 22 or so today - not sure why - maybe because more testing, maybe backlog of tests finally got released - ????? I really don't know.

    Dave Roberts

    -- Posted by gfd622 on Sat, May 16, 2020, at 4:04 PM
  • gfd622- I think the jump may be due to the fact that they are now testing the State Prisons.

    -- Posted by Workingthesoil on Sun, May 17, 2020, at 8:58 AM
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