Dec 23, 2020 / 06:35 PM EST
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) This week, COVID-19 cases leveled off in Indiana, but health professionals warn if Hoosiers let down their guard for the holidays and continue to travel and have large family gathering, record numbers of positive cases and deaths could develop.
COVID-19 cases were already on the rise prior to Thanksgiving. The surge in numbers was partially hidden by an increase in community spread.
Thomas Duszynski of the Richard Fairbanks School of Public Health said if people continue to ignore warnings from health professionals, a record number of cases could be ahead. “I think we are going to go back to those 6,000, 7,000, 8,000 cases a day, where we were before unfortunately, and to be a little bit grimmer unfortunately, we are going to hit 10,000 more deaths in the state of Indiana by the end of January.”
Dec 22, 2020 / 11:45 PM EST
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) In Gov. Eric Holcomb’s weekly COVID-19 briefing, Chief Medical Officer Dr. Lindsay Weaver announced a hospital in northern Indiana received its first shipment of the Moderna vaccine on Monday.
Indianapolis could have it as soon as Wednesday.
State health officials said since the start of the pandemic, hospitals have been working off projections. This means some hospitals prepared for a certain number of doses and ended up with fewer.
Now with two vaccines to work with, they hope to fill some of the gap.
More than 40,000 Hoosiers have been vaccinated so far, and 50,000 more are on a list to receive their first dose by Jan. 4. Weaver said the vaccine would be a scarce resource for a very long time.
Dec 23, 2020 / 02:51 PM EST
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) The Indiana State Department of Health has issued new COVID-19 information for our state.
On Wednesday, ISDH said 4,731 more Hoosiers have tested positive for COVID-19. The new cases were recorded between Oct. 26 and Dec. 22.
A total of 476,538 Hoosiers have tested positive for COVID-19.
ISDH says 62 more Hoosiers have died from COVID-19. The deaths occurred between Aug. 19 and Dec. 22.
A total of 7,306 Hoosiers have died from COVID-19. Another 339 “probable” deaths have occurred, but a positive test is not on record.
The 7-day positive rate for unique individuals stands at 24%. The 7-day positivity rate for all individuals is 12.1%.
Dec 22, 2020 / 07:44 PM EST
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) The Restart Indiana grant program was set to expire Tuesday night, but Gov. Holcomb has extended the application deadline to Jan. 22.
Over the past several months, that state has handed out grants hundreds of grants to Indiana businesses ranging from a few hundred dollars to $20,000.
Meet Adam Hampton: He and his husband own and operate a small business in Irvington that was forced to shut down for almost three months.
“We first pivoted our business to sell online. Every moment there were updates. I followed updates, especially about small businesses. As soon as I found out there was something for small businesses, I jumped on it,” said Hampton.
3,401 COVID-19 deaths in 1 day likely fueled by Thanksgiving gatherings, travel
Hundreds of people in need wait in line to receive toys and food at the Grace Food Pantry s Christmas event in Everett, Massachusetts on December 19, 2020. - The pantry has been running seven days a week since the pandemic started and provided thousands of families with the food they need to survive. (Photo by Joseph Prezioso / AFP) (Photo by JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP via Getty Images)
by: Holly Yan and Eric Levenson, CNN
Posted:
Dec 23, 2020 / 03:43 PM EST
(CNN) Thousands more families just lost a loved one this holiday season as the U.S. reported its second-highest number of coronavirus deaths in one day 3,401 on Tuesday, according to Johns Hopkins University.