INDIANAPOLIS — Sunday's latest updates on the coronavirus pandemic.
Indiana reports 4,689 new cases, 36 more deaths
Indiana is reporting 4,689 new cases of COVID-19 today. Total positive cases now number 210,374 since the pandemic began.
The 36 newly-reported deaths that occurred between Oct. 30 and Saturday bring the number of Hoosiers who died after testing positive for the virus to 4,383.
Since late February, 1,809,940 unique individuals have been tested in Indiana, up from 1,794,398 reported on Saturday. A total of 3,210,666 tests, including repeat tests for the same people, have been reported to the state Department of Health.
Indiana hospitals are reporting only 6 percent of the state's available ventilators are currently assigned to COVID-19 patients. Thirty percent of the state's available ICU beds are available, with COVID-19 patients currently using 24 percent of Indiana's bed capacity.
Indiana seeks retired health care workers for COVID-19 help
State health officials are renewing their call for retired health care workers to help relieve staff in Indiana’s hospitals and long-term care facilities as the number of hospitalizations and new infections across the state continue to spike at record highs.
Indiana State Health Commissioner Dr. Kris Box says hospitals and healthcare workers in Indiana are swamped, “needing support now more than ever.”
More than 2,000 Hoosiers are in hospitals for treatment of COVID-19.
The state’s hospitals are currently seeing more coronavirus patients than at any other time in the pandemic. Staffing issues continue to be the greatest challenge, Box said, adding that there’s an ongoing need for additional reservists who would be “willing to serve.”
Nursing home COVID-19 cases rise four-fold in surge states
The Trump administration has tried to erect a protective shield around nursing homes, but coronavirus cases are surging within facilities in states hard hit by the latest wave of COVID-19, including Indiana.
An analysis of federal data from 20 states for The Associated Press finds that new weekly cases among residents rose nearly four-fold from the end of May to late October, from about 1,100 to nearly 4,300.
Resident deaths more than doubled, from 318 a week to 699. That's according to University of Chicago health researchers.
The administration says nursing home outbreaks involve complex dynamics and the government has provided billions of dollars to help nursing homes as well as thousands of fast-test machines.
Indiana continues to set daily highs in new virus cases.
A daily record of more than 5,000 new COVID-19 infections have been confirmed in Indiana. The Indiana Department of Health reported that the 5,007 cases announced Saturday bring to 205,722 the number of state residents now known to have or have had the coronavirus.
Health officials said Saturday that 43 more people are confirmed to have died from the virus, while another 244 probable deaths have been reported based on clinical diagnoses in patients for whom no positive test is on record.
More than 4,300 state residents are confirmed to have died from the virus since the start of the pandemic.
Latest US, world numbers
There have been more than 9.9 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. as of 1:30 p.m. ET Sunday, according to Johns Hopkins University. There have been more than 237,200 deaths and 3.85 million people recovered.
Worldwide cases top 50 million
Worldwide, there have been more than 50 million confirmed cases with more than 1.25 million deaths and 32.8 million recoveries.
The real number of people infected by the virus around the world is believed to be much higher — perhaps 10 times higher in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — given testing limitations and the many mild cases that have gone unreported or unrecognized.
For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness like pneumonia, or death.
New Palestine HS switches to virtual learning
New Palestine High School announced that it will be switching to virtual learning effective immediately until Thanksgiving break.
All other CSCSHC schools will continue in-person instruction.