Indiana's COVID-19 Deaths Rise By 55 To 300 Amid Pandemic

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana’s death toll from COVID-19-related illnesses surged by more than 20 percent on Friday as state health officials reported another 55 deaths, pushing the state’s toll during the pandemic to 300 deaths.

The 55 deaths were the largest number the Indiana State Department of Health has reported to date in its daily pandemic updates, followed by 42 deaths the state agency reported Thursday. Friday's update boosted Indiana's total deaths about 22 percent from Thursday's tally of 245 deaths.

The department has said that the additional deaths it reports each day occurred over multiple days.

An additional 568 Hoosiers had confirmed cases of COVD-19 — the respiratory disease caused by the virus, raising Indiana’s total confirmed cases to 6,907 following corrections to the previous day’s total, the department said.

Marion County, the home of Indianapolis, again had the most new COVID-19 cases, at 202, increasing its total to 2,600 — or about 38 percent of Indiana’s total. Central Indiana's Madison County had 57 new cases and northwestern Indiana’s Lake County had 53. Seven other Indiana counties had 10 or more new confirmed cases.

The health department said 35,040 Indiana residents had been tested for the coronavirus as of late Thursday.

For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death.