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Indiana coronavirus updates for Wednesday, November 18, 2020

Coronavirus updates from Wednesday, Nov. 18.

INDIANAPOLIS — Wednesday's latest updates on the coronavirus pandemic.

Avon High School to transition to e-learning Thursday

Avon Community School Corporation Superintendent Dr. Scott Wyndham announced that they are experiencing a high number of students and staff under quarantine. Because of this, they don't have enough school personnel to support in-person learning. 

AHS will transition to e-learning starting Thursday, Nov. 19. The plan is to return to in-person learning on Friday, Dec. 4 to allow staff quarantines to be completed.

State update on response

State health leaders and a quarantined Gov. Eric Holcomb provided an update on the COVID-19 response and guidance for holiday gatherings. 

Gov. Holcomb said he and his wife will do the right thing by staying quarantined and they will get tested later this week. Contact tracing is being handled by the ISDH. That tracing of the infected security staff identified 20 close contacts that needed to quarantine, including the governor.

The governor said he is worried about the rising cases and the capacity in hospitals to handle the surge in cases. He said that with hospital staff getting ill, it will only make resources tighter. The death rate is already on the rise and the key will be getting through the next few months until there is a vaccine, according to the governor.

The state has 21 counties in red, one county in yellow and 72 in orange and only. In the number of cases per 1,000 residents would put the entire state in red. Cases are now at the highest level since the start of the pandemic.

The state said it is struggling to keep up with the number of tests needed. It acknowledged that wait times are too high and are working to add labs and optimize all testing methods. Resources are being limited and some sites are no longer testing asymptomatic people.

The state said venues that violate the mandates and governor's order face warnings and possible closure.

Dr. Kristina Box with ISDH said the number of cases are on an exponential growth curve and won't slow down anytime soon.

Dr. Box also said it is positive that all but two state lawmakers wore masks in the legislature yesterday. But she said no single Hoosier should be ignoring the mask mandate.

Holiday guidance

New cases are trending towards to the 18-30 age group. The state is concerned about students returning home for the holiday and recommends students get tested first. ISDH recommends students act as if they are positive when they come home, including staying at home and wearing a mask even inside.

The state suggests people avoid travel and not celebrate Thanksgiving as a large group. 

  • Visit someone at a long-term care facility from outside or virtually.
  • Decrease exposures by avoiding indoor activities as much as possible.
  • Wear a mask at all times - even indoors.
  • Wash your hands frequently. 
  • Physically distance as much as possible.
  • Screen anyone planning to attend.
  • Clean surfaces, especially common surfaces, frequently.

Vaccine update

The state has 50 hospitals currently ready to receive and administer the vaccine. The state will not distribute any vaccine until it is deemed safe by federal and state health leaders.

The vaccine will currently only be available to those 18 and older. The state will notify those groups as they are able to receive it.

The state does not anticipate having enough vaccine for all Hoosiers until late spring or summer. The early vaccine will go to frontline workers and at-risk groups.

ISDH daily update

The state is reporting 6,143 new cases of COVID-19 and 60 more deaths from the virus. That makes a total of 268,222 cases and 4,830 deaths in Indiana since the start of the pandemic.

The positivity rate continues to soar. Between Nov. 5 and Nov. 11, it was 12.2 percent for all tests and 23.4 percent for unique individuals.

The state also surpassed 3,000 hospitalized COVID-19 patients for the first time. On Tuesday, there were 3,040 people being treated in hospitals for the virus. The state has 21.7 percent of its ICU beds available. Of those currently in use, 39 percent are by COVID-19 patients.

Community Health Network restricts visitors

Community Health Network will begin restricting visitors in some facilities starting Wednesday due to rising COVID-19 cases.

Visitation will not be allowed in the following hospital units/sites of care:

  • Surgery 
  • Inpatient
  • Oncology
  • Emergency Department
  • Ambulatory 

In other areas, visitors will be limited:

  • Maternity (1 support person)
  • Pediatrics (1 parent/guardian)
  • NICU (parents/guardian)
  • End of life (2 visitors)

Masks and health screenings are required for everyone in Community Health Network facilities.

Franciscan Health changing drive-thru COVID testing hours

Hours are changing for drive-thru COVID-19 testing at Franciscan Health Indianapolis. 

The new hours, which began Tuesday, Nov. 17, are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

There will be no testing on Thanksgiving, Christmas, or New Year's Day. Patients must have a doctor's order and register for a test the same day in order to receive one. Call 317-528-8974 to register.

Staff member at Fishers school dies

A staff member at Thorpe Elementary Creek Elementary School in Fishers has died from COVID-19, according to the superintendent.

"Our thoughts and prayers go out today to the family of Pam Podany, a Thorpe Creek staff member who died last night from Covid," HSE Schools Superintendent Allen Bourff said in a tweet Wednesday morning. "Condolences also to her school family."

EDITOR'S NOTE: A previous version of this story said the staff member was a teacher. HSE Schools has not yet confirmed Podany's role.

Pfizer: COVID-19 shot 95% effective, seeking vaccine approval soon

Pfizer says that more interim results from its ongoing coronavirus vaccine study suggest the shots are 95 percent effective and that the vaccine protects older people most at risk of dying from COVID-19.

The announcement, just a week after Pfizer first revealed promising preliminary results, comes as the company is preparing within days to formally ask U.S. regulators to allow emergency use of the vaccine.

Pfizer initially had estimated its vaccine, developed with German partner BioNTech, was more than 90 percent effective after 94 infections had been counted. With Wednesday’s announcement, the company now has accumulated 170 infections in the study — and said only eight of them occurred in volunteers who got the actual vaccine rather than a dummy shot. One of those eight developed severe disease, the company said.

The company has not yet released detailed data on its study, and results have not been analyzed by independent experts.

Pfizer said its vaccine was more than 94 percent effective in adults over age 65, though it is not clear how the company determined effectiveness in older adults, with only eight infections in the vaccinated group to analyze and no breakdown provided of those people’s ages.

Fishers' new public health order begins Wednesday

Fishers' new public health order in response to the growing number of COVID-19 cases goes into effect Wednesday, Nov. 18.

The following changes are being implemented: 

  • Social gatherings are limited to a maximum of 10 people inside and 25 people outside.
  • Businesses must post signs, telling visitors to wear masks while inside.
  • Masks shall be worn at all times while indoors at restaurants except when eating or drinking.
  • All patrons or group parties must be at least 6 feet away from people at other tables in restaurants. Party size must be limited to eight people or fewer at each table. Table service is required for indoor dining or drink service.
  • No bar-top seating is permitted at restaurants. Tables within a bar area may be open for table service, but customers must remain seated and congregation is not permitted.
  • All self-service beverage or food stations offering food items not pre-packaged shall be closed.
  • No more than two people may wait in the lobby at restaurants for a table unless social distancing can be accommodated.
  • Attendance at extra-curricular co-curricular activities are limited to parents, support staff, and players/participants only.
  • Special events — such as conferences, conventions, sport or racing competitions, extracurricular school events, concerts, shows, fairs, festivals, carnivals, parades, graduation ceremonies, community holiday celebrations, fundraisers, or other entertainment events — must have approval to host more than 25 people.

Additionally, the Fishers Health Department signed an extension to the Fishers mask mandate for 30 days.

The public health order will end Thursday, Dec. 10. 

Last week, Fishers moved its COVID-19 community risk level to red, which is considered the severe risk category.

RELATED: Fishers considers $500 fines for breaking health department orders aimed at slowing the pandemic

Latest US, world numbers

There have been more than 11.35 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. as of 3:30 a.m. ET Wednesday, according to Johns Hopkins University. There have been more than 248,000 deaths and 4.29 million people recovered.

Worldwide, there have been more than 55.64 million confirmed cases with more than 1.33 million deaths and 35.79 million recoveries.

RELATED: See where confirmed Indiana coronavirus cases are with this interactive map

RELATED: VERIFY: Are Indiana’s new COVID-19 case numbers inflated with multiple positive tests for the same person?

The real number of people infected by the virus around the world is believed to be much higher — perhaps 10 times higher in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — given testing limitations and the many mild cases that have gone unreported or unrecognized.

For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness like pneumonia, or death.

Washington Township schools move to e-learning Wednesday

The MSD of Washington Township is moving to virtual instruction only for all schools and students Pre-K through 12th grade beginning Wednesday, Nov. 18.

This comes after Mayor Joe Hogsett announced all Marion County schools must return to e-learning by Nov. 30.

Muncie middle school closes until Nov. 30

A Muncie middle school will be closed through Thanksgiving as several staff members quarantine due to a case of coronavirus.

A staff member at Southside Middle School received confirmation of a positive COVID-19 test Tuesday night. After conducting contact tracing, school officials determined the entire front office staff at the school, as well as administrators, had been in close contact with the individual and needed to quarantine for 14 days.

The school is expected to be closed until Monday, Nov. 30 with all after-school activities canceled until it reopens.

Students at the middle school will move to e-learning for the rest of this week and next week leading up to Thanksgiving.

No other Muncie schools were affected by the positive case, school officials said.

Michigan's 3-week emergency order begins Wednesday

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services' (MDHHS) new COVID-19 restrictions begin Wednesday, Nov. 18.

The new emergency order enacts a three-week pause on indoor social gatherings and other group activities in an effort to curb rapidly rising COVID-19 infection rates.

Under this order, indoor residential gatherings are limited to two households at any one time. However, MDHHS strongly urges families to pick a single other household to interact with over the next three weeks, consistent with new guidance released by the department.

Bars and restaurants will be open for outdoor dining, carry-out and delivery only. Gyms will remain open for individual exercise with strict safety measures in place.

Casinos, movie theaters and group exercise classes will be closed. 

Professional and college sports may continue without spectators; however, all other organized sports must stop. Under the order, colleges and high schools are ordered to proceed with remote learning only, ending in-person classes.

RELATED: Michigan governor, health department issue 3-week epidemic order limiting gatherings, closing dine-in at restaurants

The order is not a blanket stay-home action like in the spring. The order leaves open any work that cannot be performed from home, including manufacturing, construction and health occupations. Outdoor gatherings, outdoor dining and parks remain open. 

Individualized activities with distancing and face masks are still allowed, such as retail shopping; public transit; restaurant takeout; personal-care services such as haircuts, by appointment; and individualized exercise at a gym, with extra spacing between machines.

In-person K-8 schooling may continue if it can be done with strong mitigation, including mask requirements, based on discussion between local health and school officials. Child care also remains open to support working parents.

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