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Allen County Has Four Positive Coronavirus Cases

Allen County Health

Updated March 20, 2020 at 3 p.m.

Allen County has four confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 as of Friday afternoon. No deaths in northeast Indiana have been reported.

The Allen County numbers do not match the total released by the Indiana State Department of Health. But local officials are using private labs for testing, while the state is relying on numbers generated from state or federal tests.

The private lab numbers have a delay in how they are reported to the state, according to officials at the Allen County Department of Health.

In an effort to provide local information quickly, the Allen County Department of Health has created its own COVID-19 dashboard, which is identified with the time of the count.

Previous version:

Allen County has confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 today. The patients are currently in isolation.

One patient is a young adult who had recently traveled abroad. Shortly after returning to the U.S. they began exhibiting symptoms of the virus. The patient self-isolated in their home when they began to present symptoms.

 

The second patient is an older adult who, the department of health says, has underlying chronic health conditions. They are currently in isolation at a hospital, but they haven’t yet announced which facility.

 

Both cases were confirmed Thursday.

 

So far Indiana has nearly 60 confirmed positive cases of the novel coronavirus, with 380 tests having been administered so far, according to the state's dashboard. The dashboard had not been updated to reflect Allen County's cases as of late Thursday night.

 

The Allen County health commissioner, Dr. Deb McMahan says she expects to see more cases in the coming days as there are several tests awaiting results.

 

McMahan suggests that residents continue to practice social distancing and self-monitoring for symptoms. She recommends only those showing the worst symptoms visit hospitals for testing, due to a limited amount of available tests.

McMahan says the Department of Health has been preparing for Allen County to see its first case.

 

Rebecca manages the news at WBOI. She joined the staff in December 2017, and brought with her nearly two decades of experience in print journalism, including 15 years as an award-winning reporter for the Journal Gazette in Fort Wayne.
Ella Abbott is a multimedia reporter for 89.1 WBOI. She is a strong believer in the ways audio storytelling can engage an audience and create a sensory experience.