Indiana eclipses 16,000 dead, but sees rate slow as new cases continue to fall

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Indiana has added 1,000 new confirmed COVID-19 deaths to its total in four weeks, pushing the state past another grim milestone: 16,000 dead. But, the rate of deaths has slowed as cases driven by the delta variant have fallen.

With updated death data from the weekend, the Indiana Department of Health reported 57 deaths, bringing the total to 16,022.

After peaking at an average of 98 deaths per day in December, Indiana’s average plummeted to less than 10 per day from April until July. September's average climbed to 38 deaths per day. However, October so far is about 26.

To put that in context, the total deaths reported in October so far is only a little more than half September’s total, with five days left in the month.

Larger counties accounted for a greater share of the deaths from the last four weeks: Marion, Lake and Delaware counties all reported 50 or more deaths. Taking into account population, nine counties reported more than four deaths per 10,000 residents.

These deaths still trend younger than earlier in the pandemic. Before Aug. 1, fewer than 3 percent of deaths were Hoosiers younger than 50. But since Aug. 1, that has grown to 10 percent.

READ MORE: How Is Indiana Distributing COVID-19 Vaccines? Here's What You Need To Know

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State health officials say there are an additional 545 suspected COVID-19 deaths – where a test wasn’t administered but health care professionals believe the person had the virus.

IDOH added 190 deaths to its total in the last week – it’s important to note, deaths take longer to report than cases, so this number is likely to rise.

Contact Lauren at lchapman@wfyi.org or follow her on Twitter at @laurenechapman_.

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