HANCOCK COUNTY — The state reported Wednesday, Nov. 4, that a Hancock County resident recently died from COVID-19 and that the county set another record for the number of infections in a single day, with 40 new cases.

The fatality, which was reported on Tuesday, was a man in his 70s who died on Nov. 1, according to the Indiana State Department of Health’s online COVID-19 dashboard. Hancock County’s death toll from the novel coronavirus is now 45.

Thirty-eight of Hancock County’s most recent cases were confirmed on Nov. 3, and two were confirmed on Oct. 27. It follows other recent daily highs of 31 on Oct. 30 and 25 on Nov. 2. The county’s case total stood at 1,449 Wednesday.

The dashboard also updated its color-coded county metrics map Wednesday. Hancock County remained yellow, meaning moderate community spread. Most of Indiana’s counties are orange, indicating moderate to high community spread. Fountain, Fayette and Dubois counties are red, meaning high community spread. One county — Brown County — is blue, for minimal community spread.

The dashboard updated data at long-term care centers across the state Wednesday as well. Greenfield Healthcare Center reported a new staff case, raising that total to 16. Springhurst Health Campus in Greenfield reported fewer than five new staff cases, keeping that total at fewer than five.

Hancock Regional Hospital had four COVID-19 hospitalizations Wednesday, according to Craig Felty, vice president, chief nursing officer and chief operating officer for the hospital.

The county added 506 COVID-19 tests Wednesday, raising that total to 31,695. Almost 20,500 individuals have been tested in the county.

Hancock County’s seven-day positivity rate for all tests Oct. 22 through 28 is 8.4% and the cumulative rate is 4.7%. Its seven-day positivity rate for unique individuals for that time period is 14% and the cumulative rate is 7.1%.

Indiana also saw a new high Wednesday for daily infections, adding 3,756 that were confirmed between Oct. 23 and Nov. 3. They raised the state’s total to 191,764. The state also added 25 COVID-19 deaths, raising that total to 4,224.

Gov. Eric Holcomb held a press conference updating the state on the COVID-19 battle on Wednesday and began by stating that, contrary to some rumors about what would happen after Tuesday’s election, the state will not close businesses or revert to an earlier stage of lockdown.

The state is formulating a plan for how an eventual COVID-19 vaccine would be distributed, including seeking five sites around the state which would distribute it first to workers at hospitals and long-term care facilities. Health commissioner Dr. Kristina Box cautioned, however, that there is no way to know when a vaccine may arrive or how many doses Indiana would receive. Instead of counting on that, Hoosiers should rely on proven methods of prevention: social distancing, hand washing, and wearing masks.

Holcomb reiterated the message that most COVID-19 outbreaks in the state are occurring because of small gatherings among family and friends that do not observe social distancing and mask wearing. He added that other states which have shut down restaurants and bars are still seeing increased cases.

The governor said he did not plan to ask legislators to impose a penalty for not wearing masks in public once the legislature reconvenes. Helping people understand why they should wear a mask, he said, is a better strategy than punishing them for not doing so, and law enforcement does not have the capacity to monitor mask-wearing.

“It’s an effectiveness argument to me,” he said.

After winning re-election on Tuesday, Holcomb said the decisions he and his health advisers make about the pandemic will continue to be driven by science, not by what is politically popular.

“The only campaign that we’re running here is a campaign to save lives,” he said.

Jessica Karins of the Daily Reporter staff contributed to this story.
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