Indiana’s stay-at-home order was extended Friday for two more weeks as the state’s number of coronavirus-related deaths topped 100 with the anticipated illness peak still weeks away.
Gov. Eric Holcomb announced the extension for the order that first took effect March 25 and was set to expire Tuesday.
Holcomb has repeatedly urged residents to avoid unnecessary trips outside their home and to remain at least six feet from those they don’t live with to help stem the virus spread.
Indiana reported 408 new cases of novel coronavirus on Friday bringing the state's total number of confirmed infections to 3,437, according to health officials.
There have also been a total of 102 deaths across the state since the pandemic began, a rise of 24 in the last day.
According to data compiled by Indiana's health department as of Sunday, adults between the ages of 60 and 69 have accounted for the most positive tests, with 18.2 percent of confirmed cases in the state coming from that age group.
The state has conducted more than 17,000 coronavirus tests since the outbreak started, according to official figures. A total of 17,835 tests were administered statewide as of Friday morning.
On Thursday, officials closed K-12 schools statewide for the remainder of the school year as cases continue to rise.
Gov. Eric Holcomb issued an executive order Monday allowing for recently retired medical professionals and out-of-state professionals to apply for temporary medical licenses to help in the response to the pandemic.
Indiana hospitals have added about 500 critical care beds to give the state 1,940 as of Monday, said Dr. Jennifer Sullivan, secretary of the state’s Family and Social Services Administration.
While officials said about 60% of those ICU beds were in use, Sullivan said hospitals continued working to create more ICU capacity by steps such as converting operating and recovery rooms space. The state’s goal is to double the pre-virus intensive care capacity and Indiana’s count of 1,177 ventilators to meet an anticipated COVID-19 case surge in the coming weeks, she said.
