INDIANAPOLIS — As we head into week 11 of the COVID-19 pandemic, over 1,800 Hoosiers have already lost their lives to the virus and nearly half of those deaths have been people living in long-term care facilities.
New numbers released by the Indiana State Department of Health on Monday show that overall cases in the state appear to be leveling out, but the percentage of those cases and deaths that come from Indiana nursing homes continues to rise.
In just the past three weeks, from May 4 until May 25, the number of Hoosiers who have died from COVID-19 in nursing homes across the state has more than doubled.
On May 4, ISDH reported 2,316 cases of COVID-19 and 420 related deaths in nursing homes. Those numbers accounted for 36.4% of all COVID-19 deaths and 11.2% of all COVID-19 cases in Indiana.
Just 21 days later, that percentage has gone up significantly. On May 25, ISDH reported 4,086 cases of COVID-19 and 876 related deaths in nursing homes. That means roughly 47% of all deaths in the state and 12.8% of all Hoosier COVID-19 cases are now from Indiana long-term care facilities.
As those numbers keep climbing, Hoosier families are still fighting for more transparency from the state on where the cases are being reported. Right now, the state of Indiana only releases the overall number of people who have tested positive and have died in nursing homes.
WRTV has been tracking the cases in central Indiana and has put together a database for families to see how COVID-19 is impacting the long-term care facilities their loved ones are living in.
If your family's nursing home is not providing the information at your request, you can report it to familyoutreach@isdh.in.gov.
You can see the full list of nursing home COVID-19 data compiled by the RTV6 team in the document below. This list will be continuously updated as new numbers are provided.
Has your nursing home reported deaths or COVID-19 cases to you? Email kara.kenney@wrtv.com to share that information with our team.
