Health officials in Indiana say that nearly 7,000 new cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in the last 24 hours, along with 40 deaths as cases continue to rise in the state.
According to data from the Indiana State Department of Health, a total of 6,983 new cases of the virus have been confirmed in the last day, bringing the state’s total number of coronavirus cases to 289,183 since the pandemic began.
Saturday’s 40 additional deaths brings the statewide total to 4,992 fatalities related to the virus, with another 254 deaths listed as “probable” COVID-19 fatalities.
A total of 61,234 new tests were administered in the state over the last 24 hours, with 22,907 Indiana residents tested in all.
According to the latest data available from ISDH, a total of 2,053,143 individuals have been tested, with 3,846,380 tests administered during the pandemic.
The positivity rate on all tests conducted in the state over the last seven days currently sits at 12.2%, while the positivity rate for unique individuals is at 23.5%.
Hospitalizations continued their staggering rise on Saturday, with 3,168 patients currently receiving care for coronavirus-like illnesses. Of those patients, 2,610 have officially been diagnosed with coronavirus, a record high for the state.
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As of Saturday, 43% of the intensive care unit beds statewide are currently in use by coronavirus patients, with 10.4% of the state’s ventilators currently in use by COVID-19 patients.
While many areas of the state are seeing massive surges in cases, numerous northern Indiana counties are experiencing large influxes of COVID-19 diagnoses. In Lake County, 770 new cases are popping up per 100,000 residents every seven days, with a seven-day positivity rate of 15.81%. In nearby Porter County, 869 new cases per 100,000 residents are being reported, along with a 16.35% positivity rate.
In Elkhart County, located near the Michigan border, 1,061 new cases are being reported per 100,000 residents each week, with a positivity rate of more than 17% on new tests.