What can I do to stay safe during holiday celebrations?
Though post-Thanksgiving case numbers are not as high as state leaders feared, Dr. Kristina Box and Gov. Eric Holcomb asked Hoosiers to consider staying home for the holidays.
“Maybe it wasn’t as bad as we thought it was going to be (after Thanksgiving), but don’t pop the cork just yet,” Holcomb said. “We are managing our way through this.”
Box said the state’s 7-day positivity rate, which has hovered around 12% the past few weeks, is too high. Deaths and hospitalizations are still high and stretching hospitals thin, she said.
“These are sobering numbers and they underscore the need to protect the most vulnerable among us,” said Box, referring to the state’s number of deaths; 143 were added Tuesday.
Another concern is that all 92 counties remain in “red,” according to the state’s color-coded metrics for cases per 100,000, for the sixth week in a row, Box said. In fact, every county in the state has more than 200 per 100,000.
Though the post-Thanksgiving surge was not a high as it could have been, Box advised Hoosiers to keep their gatherings small.
“I’m very concerned about where we will be after Christmas and the New Year,” Box said. “Certainly, we should limit your gatherings to your households.”
Dr. David Dunkle, president and CEO of Johnson Memorial Health, asked Johnson County residents to avoid large gatherings on Christmas and New Years. Dunkle is taking his own advice and will video chat with his extended family for the holidays, he said.
“We have a vaccine now, so why push the envelope and take that risk?” Dunkle said. “We have Zoom. We have Facetime. Is it as good? No, it is not even close to in-person interactions. But it is a pandemic, a medical emergency, and we should act like it.”
How is the situation at the county hospital?
Johnson Memorial Hospital remains near capacity this week due to a continued winter surge in sick patients, on top of COVID-19 patients. In the past week, the number of patients in the hospital’s critical care unit ranged from 11 to 15. There were 13 COVID-19 patients hospitalized Tuesday morning, he said.
The hospital has avoided going on diversion again, but is still struggling with a much higher sustained patient volume than normal, Dunkle said.
“We are still very busy. It seems to be the new normal. Every day you come in and you try to get people discharged and open beds up,” he said.
This week, Holcomb extended two measures in place to provide more support for health care workers.
Holcomb extended for the next 90 days an executive order allowing paramedics, emergency medical professionals and certain types of medical students to practice with physician supervision.
Holcomb also extended until February the mission for the Indiana National Guard in long-term care facilities. More than 1,000 guardsmen are currently serving in long-term care facilities across the state.
How is vaccine distribution going?
Locally, the COVID-19 vaccine is being distributed to health care workers, including hospital employees and emergency medical service providers who are involved with patient care.
So far, hundreds of health care workers who live and work in the county have been vaccinated. The exact number of local vaccinations so far was not available at press time Tuesday.
Last week, Johnson Memorial received about 1,100 doses of the vaccine, but has not distributed all of those doses yet, Dunkle said. Initially, the hospital thought 975 doses were on the way, but vials of the vaccine actually contain an extra dose each, he said.
Thousands more doses of the vaccine are arriving this week in Indiana to cover more health care workers, with the first Moderna shipment expected Tuesday in Hammond, said Dr. Lindsay Weaver, the state’s chief medical officer.
Vaccine supplies are still limited and is likely to be restricted to health care workers and long-term care facility residents only through January, Weaver said.
About 40,000 Hoosiers were vaccinated by the end of the day Tuesday, with 91,000 total expected to be vaccinated by Jan. 4.
Hoosier long-term care facilities on Monday will be getting the first round of vaccines to residents through a partnership between the state, CVS and Walgreens.
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Here is a look at the latest numbers available, between Dec. 17 and Tuesday:
Johnson County
Weekly cases: 854
Weekly deaths: 16
7-day positivity rate: 13.1%
Indiana
Weekly cases: 28,602
Weekly deaths: 408
7-day positivity rate: 12.2%
Source: Indiana State Department of Health
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