Indiana expects the coronavirus outbreak to hit its peak in the state in mid-to-late April.
State health commissioner Kristina Box says she can’t project how many Hoosiers will catch the virus, but she says studying places like New York which saw the virus first has helped to model its likely progress.
The state has about a thousand cases so far, including 24 deaths. Box says she believes the state is still in “the calm before the storm.” Governor Holcomb says the outbreak is still “a snowball rolling downhill” in many parts of the state. The number of confirmed cases has been doubling every two or three days, though not all those patients have been hospitalized.
A statewide lockdown expires April 6. Holcomb says he’ll extend it if need be. He notes we’re only three days in so far.
Holcomb and Box say there are still plenty of hospital beds to handle the onslaught of coronavirus cases, but have repeatedly deflected questions about how many beds there are. They say they get daily updates, but have agreements with the hospitals not to release those numbers.
Box says the state is ready if there’s a crunch. She says she’s talked with hospitals across Indiana and says they’re confident they have enough capacity.