US surgeon general names Indianapolis as ’emerging hotspot’ for coronavirus

The latest on the coronavirus on March 29 on News 8 at 10 p.m.

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – National health leaders have named Indianapolis as a possible hot spot location for the coronavirus pandemic.

On March 6, the Indiana State Health Department confirmed the first case of coronavirus. Since then the number of confirmed cases is growing by the hundreds daily as more tests have become available.

There are 676 confirmed cases in Marion County. On Sunday, Dr. Jerome Adams, U.S. surgeon general, included Indianapolis as one of the “emerging hotspots” for the virus.

Adams made the reference in a tweet on Sunday comparing Indianapolis to some cities with more than 1,000 cases each: New Orleans (1,350), Chicago (2,026), Detroit (1,542), Los Angeles (1,818), and Miami (1,192). All of those cities have seen a rapid jump in positive cases.

7/n We must now focus on flattening the curve AND raising the bar in emerging hotspots like New Orleans, Chicago, Detroit, LA, Miami, and Indianapolis.



We have the playbook, – but we must all increasingly run the plays faster and better as #COVID19 spreads the field. — Jerome Adams (@JeromeAdamsMD) March 29, 2020

“Those of us who have been kind of in the thick of this for the last three weeks doesn’t come as a big surprise,” said Dr. Christopher Doehring, vice president of medical affairs at Franciscan Health Network. He continued, “That statement by the surgeon general is just confirmation of what we have already known and been dealing with.”

Doehring says we have still got a way to go in fighting the pandemic.

“We are still probably a couple weeks away from starting to see the peak here. What those models don’t factor in is how effective some of the social distancing and the ‘stay at home’ type orders will have,” said Doehring.

Doehring says the current models project the pandemic to span over a 12-week period, with the peak hitting at weeks 5-7. In central Indiana, we are currently entering week 4.

“We have taken the appropriate steps over the last two weeks but the virus, by the time we started doing some of those things, the virus was already pretty widespread,” said Doehring.

Doehring calls the trajectory “concerning” but says by following the recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the governor presents an opportunity to “flatten the curve” and minimize the peak.

“I think the recommendations and the mandates that are in place should be enough and are the best we can do under the circumstances. Whether we are complying with those recommendations is maybe where the opportunity to do more is,” said Doehring.

The best thing you can do to help the stop the spread and avoid overwhelming hospitals is to stay home as much as possible and follow the recommended guidelines.

Timeline of coronavirus in Indiana