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Local COVID-19 cases continue to rise
With 81 new positive cases in the last week, Putnam County has had 776 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began in March.
More informative and alarming for local health officials, the rolling positivity rate has been on the rise in recent weeks, with the Indiana State Department of Health reporting a 10.3 percent positivity rate for individuals for the week of Oct. 13-19.
Putnam County Hospital CEO Dennis Weatherford noted that in early October, the positivity rate was in the two- to three-percent range.
Weatherford told the Banner Graphic a number of indicators are heading in the wrong direction, including infections in long-term care facilities, rates of inpatient treatment and mortality rate.
“In the last two to four weeks, they’re all heading in the wrong direction,” Weatherford said.
While no county-level statistics are publicly available regarding hospitalizations, ISDH has some information available on long-term care facilities.
Asbury Towers has had a total of 32 resident positive cases, along with 23 for staff members. Fewer than five residents (ISDH does not specify the number) have died of COVID-19.
Elsewhere in the county, Mill Pond Health Campus has had fewer than five resident positives and fewer than five staff positives.
The Waters of Greencastle has had fewer than five staff positives.
The other three long-term care facilities have reported no cases, according to ISDH.
Additionally, the mortality rate is not promising of late, as eight of the 16 local deaths in the pandemic have occurred since Sept. 15.
The county had gone from May 31 to Sept. 14 with no deaths.
Weatherford also noted that the Terre Haute area was not hit that hard in the initial surge of coronavirus cases, but that trends do not look good in that area either.
It all adds up to a trend that has local medical professional uncomfortable heading into the winter months and the seasonal illnesses that come with them.
“That’s a bad trend for us heading into the winter and holiday season,” Weatherford said.
Meanwhile, two of Putnam County’s four school corporations have had to implement closures recently due to COVID-19, though in neither case did it have to do with a sizable outbreak, but rather a matter of manpower.
On Thursday, Cloverdale Schools announced e-learning days for the entire corporation through Nov. 3. While the closure was linked to only one positive test, there were six students and several more teachers linked to the staff member who tested positive.
Meanwhile, South Putnam announced the closure of its middle and high school through Friday, Oct. 30 due to one teacher and one student positive.
In both cases, school administrators said the closure was due to a lack of substitute teachers for those having to isolate or quarantine.
Since school resumed in August, local schools have reported the following numbers of cases:
• Cloverdale: three students, three staff members;
• Greencastle: one student, one staff member;
• North Putnam: one student, four staff members;
• South Putnam: two students, one staff member.
DePauw University has also seen a recent increase, with the college reporting seven active cases on campus as of Monday, with two students in isolation and 19 others in quarantine.
The university has had a total of 15 students and nine staff members test positive.
Meanwhile, Putnamville Correctional Facility had 11 offenders in isolation as of Monday, with 37 others in quarantine. A total of 247 Putnamville offenders have recovered from COVID-19.
Among Putnamville staff members, 41 have tested positive, 27 of whom have recovered. One Putnamville staff member is confirmed or presumed (the IDOC website does not specify) to have died of COVID-19.