Health officials say drop in COVID numbers could be misleading



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COLUMBUS, Ind. – Local health officials are concerned about pandemic fatigue and a ‘false sense of security’ among residents as hospitalizations and infection rates begin to drop from the dizzying levels seen during the winter outbreak as more than case the virus is detected in Indiana.

A total of 163 Bartholomew County residents tested positive for COVID-19 from February 12 to 18, up from 178 the week before, according to the Indiana State Department of Health.

By comparison, 587 residents of Bartholomew County tested positive for COVID-19 the week ending November 22 and 390 the week ending January 10.

Measurements from the COVID-19 Community Task Force also show a drop in the weekly positivity rate per capita in the county, falling to 25.4 per 100,000 on Wednesday, from 106.4 per 100,000 on November 20 and 60.7 on the 13th. January.

In addition, 11 patients were hospitalized for COVID-19 in Columbus Regional Health last Wednesday, up from 59 in early December, the hospital said.

While many metrics tend to drop in Bartholomew County, hospitalizations and positivity rates are still higher than in early fall, including Wednesday’s weekly positivity per capita, which was even higher than the fall. tripled from the rate of 6.8 per 100,000 population on September 2.

The hospital lasted 45 consecutive days with fewer than 10 hospitalizations from August 27 to October 10.

Dr Slade Crowder, vice president of operations for CRH’s medical business, expressed concern about “COVID fatigue” and “the logical but incorrect assumption that we have come out of the woods.”

“As the trends fade, we are coming down from really high heights,” Crowder said. “… We still have a very large community in Bartholomew County, and it’s easy to lose sight of when we’ve had such a high peak. It’s easy to get a false sense of security that things are getting back to normal. “

For more on this story, see Sunday’s Republic.

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