Putnam sets another COVID case record

As COVID-19 cases around the country continue to surge, Putnam County again set the daily record for new cases in a single day on Wednesday.

The Indiana State Department of Health reported 53 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, Dec. 2, five more than the previous record of 48 cases set on Nov. 23.

The new additions bring the county to a total of 1,478 COVID-19 cases since March.

Meanwhile, one new death was reported on Wednesday, bringing the total since the beginning of the pandemic to 31 locally. Of these, 23 have occurred since mid-September.

The positivity rate in the county is also on the rise, with the most recent seven-day average showing an eight-percent positivity rate on all cases and a rate of 22.1 percent on unique individuals.

The combined metrics of positivity rate and weekly cases per 100,000 residents had Putnam rated as an orange county for the period of Nov. 23-29. Around the state, 16 counties are considered red, the most serious rating. Putnam is among 75 more that are considered orange, the second most serious.

Only one county, tiny Switzerland County in the southeast corner of the state, is rated yellow, while no counties have been in the blue, the least serious rating, for several weeks.

Across District 7, which includes Vermillion, Parke, Putnam, Vigo, Clay, Owen, Sullivan and Greene counties, 45.5 percent of ICU beds are available. Meanwhile, 83.5 percent of ventilators were available across the district.

Putnamville Correctional Facility, at one point the biggest driver of new COVID cases in the county, has been relatively quiet recently, with only six offenders in isolation as of Thursday, and just two others quarantined for possible exposure.

All told, 281 Putnamville offenders have recovered from COVID-19.

Meanwhile, 68 Putnamville staff members have tested positive for COVID-19, 55 of whom have recovered.

Two offenders and one staff member at Putnamville have been confirmed to have died of COVID-19.

With most students off campus until March, DePauw University still showed five active cases in the campus as of Thursday.

No current numbers were available for Putnam County schools on Thursday afternoon, though Greencastle Community Schools is observing Stage 2 of its COVID-19 protocol, in which all middle and high school students are on a hybrid model in which students attend in-person class just two days a week, with virtual classes the other three days. Elementary students, meanwhile, are learning in person, five days a week.

All other Putnam County schools are currently observing their traditional in-person learning models.