State Reports Highest Increase in COVID-19 Cases in More Than 2 Months – NBC Chicago

As Indiana continues to see an increase in coronavirus
cases, some startling numbers from around the state are showing where cases are
increasingly most rapidly.

According to data provided by the Indiana State Department
of Health, Friday and Saturday have seen the fifth and third-largest single day
increases in cases since the pandemic began. On Friday, health officials
reported 739 new cases, the largest single-day increase since May 5. That
number was topped on Saturday, as health officials reported 793 new cases of
the virus, the third-highest total the state has seen during the pandemic.

The main driving force behind the new cases appears to be Lake
County, which reported its highest single-day increase in cases on Saturday,
with 161 new confirmed cases in that county alone.

Cases among Indiana residents under the age of 40 have been increasing
dramatically as of late, and Lake County is following that pattern. According
to statistics, those residents between the ages of 20 and 39 in Lake County
have accounted for a combined 31 percent of COVID-19 cases, with those between
20 and 29 accounting for 17.4 percent of cases, the highest total for any
demographic in the county.

Lake County is not the only place in Indiana seeing an
uptick in cases. In Vanderburgh County, located along the Ohio River on the southern
edge of the state, has reported 140 cases of coronavirus in the last three days
after reporting 587 over the span of nearly four months.

Marion County, one of the biggest drivers of coronavirus cases
early in the pandemic in Indiana, hadn’t reported more than 100 coronavirus
cases in a single day since May 29. That all changed on Friday, and with 101
more cases on Saturday, the county has now marked two consecutive days of
eclipsing 100 COVID-19 cases.

All of this has led to an increase in the state’s rolling
positivity rate, according to ISDH data. On June 18, that rolling rate was at
approximately 4.1 percent, but as of July 10, the number is now at 7.8 percent.

With numbers on the rise in some parts of the state, it is unclear
whether officials will move Indiana forward into Phase Five of the state’s
reopening plan, or if there will be another delay in that process. A decision
on that move will likely be made by the end of next week.