Indiana's COVID-19 Deaths Nearly Double During November

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The number of COVID-19 deaths in Indiana has nearly doubled for November from a month earlier as health officials continue adding to those reports and the state’s coronavirus-related hospitalizations remain at their highest point during the pandemic.

The Indiana State Department of Health added 142 deaths to the statewide toll with its daily update on Tuesday. Most of those deaths occurred over the past week with a reporting lull from local officials over the Thanksgiving weekend.

Those boost Indiana’s coronavirus deaths during November to at least 1,416 people — surpassing the previous monthly peak during April by nearly 400 and almost double October’s total of 732 deaths.
Gov. Eric Holcomb on Tuesday also signed an extension of the state’s public health emergency through Dec. 31. Under authority from that emergency, the governor has issued the statewide mask order and limits on crowd sizes based on the county risk level of coronavirus spread.

Hospital officials across the state are worried about being overwhelmed by the quickly growing number of severely ill patients.

Indiana hospitals were treating 3,460 COVID-19 patients as of Monday — about a 350% increase since late September when the steep increase in hospitalizations and deaths began.