Indiana's confirmed, presumed COVID-19 deaths near 2,200

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Forty-six more Hoosiers have died from COVID-19, raising Indiana's confirmed and presumed fatalities from the respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus to nearly 2,200, state health officials said Tuesday.

The newly reported deaths occurred between April 9 and Monday, although 60% of those patients had died since last Friday, according to the Indiana State Department of Health's dashboard monitor. Those additional deaths raised the number of Hoosiers confirmed to have died from COVID-19 to 2,022, the state agency said.

Another 175 people have died from probable infections of COVID-19 and those boost Indiana's confirmed or presumed deaths to 2,197 since the first one was recorded on March 15.

Another 430 Hoosiers have been diagnosed with COVID-19, increasing the state's total confirmed number of cases to 35,237, the health department said.

The state agency's dashboard also shows that Indiana's weekly update of pandemic deaths at the state's nursing homes indicates that deaths at those homes increased by 69 to 945 in a week. That number now accounts for about 43% of Indiana's toll from both confirmed and presumed COVID-19 deaths.

To date, 271,919 test results have been reported to the state health department and about 13% of those results have been positive for the coronavirus.

Hoosiers who have symptoms of COVID-19 and those who have been exposed and need a test to return to work are encouraged to visit a state-sponsored testing site for free testing.

Individuals without symptoms who are at high risk because they are over age 65, have diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure or another underlying condition, as well as those who are pregnant, live with a high-risk individual or are a member of a minority population that is at greater risk for severe illness, also are encouraged to get tested.