Indiana Reports More Than 1,000 Deaths From COVID-19

Indiana reached a grim milestone as the state reported more than 1,000 confirmed deaths from COVID-19. The state’s total Thursday is at 1,007.

The Indiana State Department of Health has reported more than 300 additional deaths in the last week, though when they died may stretch back into March.

On March 16, the state reported its first confirmed COVID-19 death, a woman from Indianapolis named Roberta Shelton. Since then, Marion County has reported 328 confirmed deaths. 

But the metropolitan county isn’t the highest death rate in the state: that goes to Decatur County, a largely rural county in southeastern Indiana. The death rate in Decatur County is 10.5 per 10,000 residents, more than triple that of Marion County. 

Black Hoosiers represent 17 percent of the state's total deaths, despite only comprising 9.8 percent of the state's population. And one person under the age of 20 has died from the novel coronavirus.

State health officials say there are likely even more than the 1,000 confirmed Hoosiers who have died. The state began reporting suspected COVID-19 deaths in the last week – where a test wasn’t administered but health care professionals reasonably believe the person had COVID-19.

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

This is a rapidly evolving story, and we are working hard to bring you the most up-to-date information. However, we recommend checking the websites of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the Indiana State Department of Health for the most recent numbers of COVID-19 cases.