Indiana COVID-19 hospitalizations near 1,900, new state high

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Indiana's hospitals were treating the largest number of COVID-19 patients on Monday since the state began releasing public reports on coronavirus hospitalizations last spring, early in the pandemic, state health officials said.

Indiana had 1,867 coronavirus hospitalizations as of Monday, a number that surpasses the previous peak of 1,799 COVID-19 hospitalizations reported on April 13, the Indiana State Department of Health said Tuesday in its daily statistics update.

The state's coronavirus hospitalizations as of Monday marked a 95% jump in Indiana's COVID-19 patients during the past month, the data show.

The health department also added 50 more coronavirus-related deaths to Indiana's pandemic toll, raising it to 4,439, including confirmed and presumed coronavirus infections. Indiana had a seven-day rolling average of 28 daily deaths as of Monday that represented one of the highest levels since May and nearly double from a month ago.

The state agency also reported another 2,951 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday. Indiana's average daily number of newly confirmed COVD-19 cases reached 3,084 as of Monday. That is up almost 190% from a month ago and has continued rising to new highs that the state has seen during the pandemic.

Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb has resisted calls for reinstating coronavirus restrictions since lifting nearly all limits in late September, just as the state started recording sharp increases in hospitalizations, deaths and new infections.

Democratic governor candidate Woody Myers, a former state health commissioner, has said tougher restrictions needed to be reinstated in Indiana. He has also repeatedly called for a stronger mask mandate, as the one Holcomb has issued includes no penalties for violators.