A sixth Montgomery County resident has died from COVID-19, as the number of positive cases rose to 142, the Montgomery County Health Department reported Tuesday.
Contact investigations are underway in connection with the two new positive cases, the health department announced in a news release.
All of the deaths have occurred in residents of Ben Hur Health & Rehabilitation, according to the county. As of Tuesday, 47 residents have tested positive for COVID-19 since a cluster of cases was confirmed at the facility April 26.
No positive cases had been reported in the other local long-term care facilities. The health department released a breakdown of cases in long-term care residents in response to recent media requests.
Ben Hur created its own testing team and partnered with a private lab to expand the tests, a facility spokesperson said. Other local facilities have tested their own residents, according to the health department.
Statewide, 717 new cases were confirmed in long-term care facilities, bringing the total to 3,033, according to the latest update from the Indiana State Department of Health. Another 164 deaths were reported for a total of 584.
Montgomery County recorded its first positive case March 24 in a resident who attended a private event at the Eagles earlier that month. Five additional cases were linked to the event, the county health department reported.
Some of the remaining cases were residents with a family member who had been diagnosed with COVID-19, according to the county.
The county has tested 763 people for COVID-19 as of Tuesday, state figures show. The state is opening new testing sites today in Fountain-Warren, Boone, Parke and Putnam counties. A map of the sites is available at www.coronavirus.in.gov.
The free tests are available to people who have symptoms of COVID-19 or were exposed to the illness. People with underlying health conditions placing them at high-risk for COVID-19 are also encouraged to get tested.
