A COVID-19 testing site is set up at the former Indiana State Police post in Seymour at 721 E. Tipton St. Staff photo by Zach Spicer
A total of 1,529 Jackson County residents have tested positive for COVID-19, an increase of 48 from Monday’s total, the Indiana State Department of Health announced Tuesday.
During Schneck Medical Center’s weekly community update, Susan Zabor, vice president of clinical and provider management and chief quality officer for the Seymour hospital, said it was the highest single-day jump since the pandemic began in March.
The previous record was 31 cases on Nov. 6.
One additional COVID-19-related death was reported in Jackson County, bringing total deaths up to 26. Half of those deaths involve people over the age of 80, and 96% involve people over the age of 60.
The positivity rate for Jackson County has increased to 10.6%, Zabor said, which keeps the county at an orange or heightened warning level for COVID-19 spread.
Zabor said as of Tuesday, Schneck had the highest number of hospitalized patients with COVID it has had since the beginning of the pandemic.
“We have 20 patients in-house, many of them in the intensive care unit,” she said.
The increase puts a strain on the hospital’s resources, she added.
“Lots of difficulty just being able to staff the units with team members out on quarantine or isolation,” she said.
Dr. Christopher Bunce, public health officer for the Jackson County Health Department, said the numbers are worsening, and it’s a cause for alarm.
“We’re going in the wrong direction,” he said. “We only have a certain capacity in the hospital and in the district, and we’re seeing this all over the state. The hospital beds are filling up, and even though the public doesn’t see that, we see it, and it does not bode well for further care for the treatment of other diagnoses.”
Bunce said the community has to do a better job of wearing masks and socially distancing. He also said it would be wise for people to avoid gatherings.
“We really need to put a lid on this in the community so we can control those numbers better, but right now, the trend is not good,” he said.
As a result of the increasing numbers of positive cases locally and statewide, Bunce said the health department is considering further restrictions by moving back to Stage 4.5 in the state’s Back on Track reopening plan, which limits gatherings to 250 people, restaurants to 75% capacity and bars to 50% capacity.
“It’s something that has already been done in Bartholomew County,” Bunce said. “I’m not sure what the governor is going to do, but I’m hoping he puts a few more restrictions on things, short of any kind of shutdown.”
But it’s not clear where the problem lies, he added.
“It seems to be a broad-based issue in the community in families, family settings, social gatherings, more than in any specific location like a workplace or a school,” he said. “It’s affecting those places, but that’s not where the problems are originating, so we really need more cooperation from the community.”
People have to be more careful, Bunce said.
“They may not think that getting COVID is a big deal, but there are more and more people ending up in the hospital, and that’s fairly serious,” he said.
Bunce said people who are in isolation at home aren’t isolating themselves enough from family members.
“They’re not being careful enough at home, and then multiple people are getting infected, and then some people with medical problems are being infected, and they’re ending up in the hospital, and the numbers are showing that,” he said. “Our case numbers are far in excess, our hospitalization rate is far in excess than it was back in April and that’s alarming.”
Stacy East, infection preventionist at Schneck, said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued information for the public on how to stay safe during the upcoming holiday season.
“With COVID worsening and social gatherings coming up, that is an important contributor to the increase in COVID cases,” she said. “So some things that we want to consider is the more people interact at a gathering, the longer the interaction, the increased risk of becoming infected or spreading COVID.”
She also said traveling increases the risk.
“Stay home from any gatherings if you are ill or have been in contact with someone who is positive,” she said.
Gatherings should be held outdoors or in large, well-ventilated rooms when possible, she said.
These measures along with continued wearing of face masks, handwashing and disinfecting frequently touched surfaces should help mitigate the spread of the virus, she said.
Brett Turner with Brownstown Electric Supply Co. Inc. said it is what employees do after they leave work that is affecting local businesses.
“We’re trying to preach it, but we can only control it so much,” he said.
Tammy Barker with Pet Supplies Plus Distribution in Seymour said the company had two more positive cases this week.
“The group activities outside of work does seem to be the root cause,” she said.
PSP has reinstated temperature checks and tightened its face mask policy for anyone entering the building, she said.
Local schools also are having problems as more and more students are having to quarantine due to exposure to a family member with COVID.
Sherry Reinhart, director of nursing for Seymour Community School Corp., said the district continues to see a rise in positive cases in both staff and students.
“When we trace those contacts, it’s coming from community spread,” she said. “We have lots of those positive contacts out in quarantine. It’s really hard to control what’s going on in the community, and I’m concerned about Thanksgiving break.”
There have been 18,739 COVID tests administered in Jackson County since March 18, an increase of 251 from Monday.
Copyright © 2024 The Tribune