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TOP STORY OF THE DAY: COVID-19 UPDATE: COVID-19 vs. seasonal flu
COVID-19 cases remain steady as of May 10
Clay County Health Department’s Public Health Nurse Kim Hyatt confirmed the number of positive COVID-19 cases remains steady at 24, with the most recent case reported May 6.
Seven patients remain in self-isolation at home while recovering. The other 16 COVID-19 cases confirmed since March have recovered, with one death reported on April 20. Further details about patients diagnosed with COVID-19 are not released due to the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
Local health officials confirm 347 Clay County residents have been tested as of May 9.
65 Days of COVID-19
The Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) is closely monitoring a pandemic of the 2019 novel (new) coronavirus or COVID-19 since the announcement of its arrival of a confirmed case on March 6: It’s been 65 days.
This new respiratory virus was first identified in the city of Wuhan in China’s Hubei Province and continues to infect people in China and around the world, including the United States.
ISDH is working with federal and local partners, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to respond to this evolving public health situation.
On March 16, ISDH reported the first death of an Indiana resident due to COVID-19.
“A family today is suffering the ultimate loss due to COVID-19, and this sadly underscores how severe the virus can be – especially for some high-risk Hoosiers,” Gov. Eric Holcomb said about the death of a Marion County resident. “The state is taking unprecedented actions to slow the spread of COVID-19, and every Hoosier should follow the precautionary measures.”
The adult patient, over the age of 60, died at a Community Health Network hospital after being hospitalized as a COVID-19 patient, and also suffered from underlying medical conditions.
“I cannot stress this enough – if you are ill, stay home. If you need to seek medical care, call ahead so that your healthcare provider can take steps to protect others from exposure to COVID-19,” said State Health Commissioner Kris Box, M.D., FACOG. “We all have a role to play to protect Hoosiers from his illness, and the time to act is now.”
At that date, 24 Hoosiers across 13 counties had received presumptive positive tests for COVID-19. All but one were adults.
On Saturday, March 28, Clay County Public Health Nurse Kim Hyatt issued a press release stating the patient is “self-isolating at home. No additional information about the patient was released due to privacy laws.”
On April 20, local health officials confirmed a Clay County resident died from COVID-19.
As of May 10, after 65 days of COVID-19 reported in the state, the ISDH confirms 24,627 positive cases among the 6.7 million residents in Indiana, with 146,688 residents tested, and the reported death toll at 1,411.
The Clay County Health Department confirms 24 cases of COVID-19 in the county, and the numbers have remained stable since Wednesday, May 6.
Is COVID-19 really all that bad?
Many people believe the COVID-19 pandemic is not as severe as health officials and the media are making it out to be, putting their sentiments out on social media. Some people admit they are not planning on wearing a face-covering while out in public or participate in social distancing like recommended by health officials at local, state, national, and world-wide levels.
The theory behind this belief is, “It’s no worse than catching the flu.”
The ISDH releases a weekly report about and to describe the spread and prevalence of influenza-like illness (ILI) in Indiana. The information provides local health departments, hospital administrators, health professionals, and Indiana residents with a general understanding of the burden of ILI.
On January 10, 2020, the first report of the year by ISDH included information from the last two weeks of 2019, and that which ended on January 4, 2020. The report showed the number of diagnosed influenza cases was moderate but throughout the state, with 22 deaths reported during the three weeks, and eight confirmed deaths the first four days of 2020.
Overall, during the 2019-2020 flu season (which regularly starts each fall), information reported in January showed there were 31 flu-associated deaths reported in Indiana, either from laboratory confirmation or listed as the cause of death on a death certificate.
ISDH’s week 18 report reviews information from weeks 16, 17, and 18, showing a minimal number of cases reported and a total of 129 deaths for the season. The most significant number of deaths were reported in patients age 50+ at 107, age 25-49 at 19, age 5-24 at 2, and one death in the category of age below 4.
There were two major peaks of influenza-associated deaths in Indiana since the beginning of 2020, with 14 reported each during weeks one and nine.
The ISDH admits the attention of laboratory testing for virologic surveillance data has focused on the current COVID-19 pandemic, but it continues to report influenza information to the CDC weekly.
The CDC has also changed its surveillance data focus due to COVID-19.
However, the CDC estimates at least 34 million flu illnesses, 350,000 hospitalizations and 20,000 deaths from flu,” during earlier reports before the pandemic.
Currently, in the week 18 influenza data at the national level, the CDC reports laboratory-confirmed flu activity as reported by clinical laboratories remains low.
Influenza-like illness activity continues to decrease and is below the national baseline.
The percent of deaths due to pneumonia or influenza (P&I) is decreasing but remains elevated, primarily due to COVID-19, not flu.
Reported pediatric flu deaths for the season are high at 174.
The influenza activity reported by states and territorial epidemiologists to the CDC indicates the geographic spread of influenza viruses but does not measure the severity of influenza activity.
During week 18, the following influenza activity was reported:
Local – Puerto Rico and seven states (Arizona, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin)
Sporadic – the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands and 33 states (Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming)
No Activity – 10 states (Delaware, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Virginia)
Guam did not report.
A copy of the ISDH Influenza Weekly Report #18 is included on the Times website at www.thebraziltimes.com.
