Hundreds more people in Montgomery County were tested for COVID-19 in the past month, according to state figures, as the total number of positive cases nears the century mark.
As of Friday, 450 people have been tested for the virus since early March, according to a running count posted on the state’s COVID-19 dashboard. The total number of reported tests was 98 at the end of March.
The Montgomery County Health Department announced 18 new positive cases Friday, bringing the county total to 93. No local deaths have been linked to the virus.
“If you look at the counties around us, I don’t think we can be surprised by the numbers we’re seeing,” said Amber Reed, health department administrator.
Hendricks County leads surrounding counties in the count with 701 positive cases and 40 deaths, according to Friday’s tally. That’s followed by Boone County, which had 189 positive cases and 23 deaths. Tippecanoe County had 115 positive cases and two deaths.
Several factors contribute to the latest set of local cases, Reed said.
Some were associated with the cluster at a local long-term care facility, which had grown to 35 cases Friday. Reed said all of the residents had been tested.
No cases had been reported in any other local long-term care facilities, Reed said. State-led strike teams are testing those residents, she added.
In other cases, family members of those diagnosed with COVID-19 had also tested positive. The rest of the cases were new.
The number of new positive cases reported by the health department often differs from the state’s dashboard because the county is immediately notified of a confirmed case through a health surveillance system.
About two in 10 people swabbed for the virus in Montgomery County receive positive tests, according to an analysis of state data.
A majority of the infected people the health department has reached through contact tracing had not been hospitalized, Reed said. But the health department does not get notified if the person is later admitted, she added.
Testing continues at the county’s drive-through site at
Crawfordsville High School. As of Wednesday, the latest date figures were available, just over 100 people had been tested since the site opened March 31. Of those, 10% tested positive.
The number of tests started growing after testing was expanded from mainly first responders and healthcare workers to include people over 65, pregnant women and those with underlying chronic medical conditions who all have symptoms.
A donation of testing material from Eli Lilly Co. also allowed the county to swab more people.
“To keep going, I’m going to need swabs,” Reed said.
Reed said expanding testing depends on available resources, including personal protective equipment.
The total number of reported tests also includes figures from doctor’s offices and hospitals.
Testing at the drive-through site is available by appointment only and with a doctor’s order.
The testing program is made possible through the health department, Franciscan Health Crawfordsville, Franciscan Physician Network, Montgomery County Emergency Management Agency, Alverno Laboratories, the Crawfordsville Police Department and the Crawfordsville Community School Corp.
