Purdue University Tuesday outlined its plans for an in-person start to the second semester, as the school reported its sharpest increase in COVID-19 testing positivity rates this academic year.

Indiana experienced COVID-19 whiplash throughout 2021 – setting both pandemic lows and record highs for cases and hospital capacity. But what did 2021 look like in Indiana by the numbers?

At a news conference on Tuesday, Riley Children’s Health chief medical officer Dr. Elaine Cox said about four times as many children are being admitted to Riley Hospital now than at any other point in the pandemic.

As COVID-19 deaths approach 19,000 in Indiana, the insurance industry has been processing claims at a record rate. Nationally, more than 824,000 people have died from the virus.

The NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments are scheduled to go on as planned amid a rise in postponements and cancellations.

Dr. Lindsay Weaver is the chief medical officer for the Indiana Department of Health. She said the surge is driven by both new COVID-19 hospitalizations and Hoosiers who had to delay care because of the pandemic.

Gov. Eric Holcomb remains opposed to banning private companies from enforcing their own COVID-19 vaccine mandates.

Gov. Eric Holcomb responded to Attorney General Todd Rokita’s statements that he doesn’t trust the state’s COVID-19 data.

While the vast majority of soldiers are already vaccinated against COVID-19, the situation is different for some of the Indiana’s approximately 11,500 Army National Guard soldiers.

Indiana officials updated guidance for K-12 schools after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced new isolation guidelines for COVID-19 cases this week, and masking largely determines how long students have to stay home.