Monroe County's COVID new cases flat; Indiana cases holding steady

Mike Stucka
·3 min read

Indiana reported 98,650 new cases of coronavirus in the week ending Sunday, up from 96,454 the week before.

Indiana ranked 26th among the states where coronavirus, the virus that causes COVID-19, was spreading the fastest on a per-person basis, a USA TODAY Network analysis of Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the latest week, coronavirus cases in the United States decreased 14.9% from the week before, with 4,770,122 cases reported. With 2.02% of the country's population, Indiana had 2.07% of the country's cases in the last week. Across the country, 27 states had more cases in the latest week than they did in the week before.

Many counties did not report during data during the Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, disrupting the current and previous weeks' statistics. Week-to-week comparisons are skewed and these numbers will be unreliable even as they're accurate to what states reported.

Monroe County reported 2,043 cases and eight deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 2,047 cases and five deaths. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 23,478 cases and 249 deaths.

Within Indiana, the worst weekly outbreaks on a per-person basis were in Warrick County with 2,765 cases per 100,000 per week; Gibson County with 2,689; and Vanderburgh County with 2,556. The Centers for Disease Control says high levels of community transmission begin at 100 cases per 100,000 per week.

Adding the most new cases overall were Marion County, with 12,850 cases; Allen County, with 6,784 cases; and Hamilton County, with 4,979. Weekly case counts rose in 72 counties from the previous week. The worst increases from the prior week's pace were in Vanderburgh, Warrick and Elkhart counties.

>> See how your community has fared with recent coronavirus cases

Indiana ranked 46th among states in share of people receiving at least one shot, with 59.6% of its residents at least partially vaccinated. The national rate is 75.5%, a USA TODAY analysis of CDC data shows. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which are the most used in the United States, require two doses administered a few weeks apart.

In the week ending Sunday, Indiana reported administering another 144,732 vaccine doses, including 47,216 first doses. In the previous week, the state administered 119,623 vaccine doses, including 30,231 first doses. In all, Indiana reported it has administered 8,933,809 total doses.

Across Indiana, cases fell in 18 counties, with the best declines in Marion County, with 12,850 cases from 15,757 a week earlier; in Lake County, with 3,462 cases from 5,277; and in Hamilton County, with 4,979 cases from 5,525.

In Indiana, 525 people were reported dead of COVID-19 in the week ending Sunday. In the week before that, 612 people were reported dead.

A total of 1,524,527 people in Indiana have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began, and 20,751 people have died from the disease, Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the United States 70,700,678 people have tested positive and 866,540 people have died.

>> Track coronavirus cases across the United States

Indiana's COVID-19 hospital admissions staying flat

USA TODAY analyzed federal hospital data as of Sunday, Jan. 23.

Likely COVID patients admitted in the state:

  • Last week: 4,098

  • The week before that: 4,055

  • Four weeks ago: 3,280

Likely COVID patients admitted in the nation:

  • Last week: 188,864

  • The week before that: 197,883

  • Four weeks ago: 99,261

Hospitals in 25 states reported more COVID-19 patients than a week earlier, while hospitals in 22 states had more COVID-19 patients in intensive-care beds. Hospitals in 30 states admitted more COVID-19 patients in the latest week than a week prior, the USA TODAY analysis of U.S. Health and Human Services data shows.

The USA TODAY Network is publishing localized versions of this story on its news sites across the country, generated with data from Johns Hopkins University and the Centers for Disease Control. If you have questions about the data or the story, contact Mike Stucka at mstucka@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Monroe County COVID cases increased by 2,043 this week