Floyd County health officials say number of positive COVID-19 cases is greater than what numbers show

NEW ALBANY, Ind. (WDRB) -- The chief medical officer at Baptist Health in New Albany is calling Floyd County a hotspot for the coronavirus.

Dr. Krishna Konijeti said he's not sure what has created this hotspot, but he hopes people will take the virus seriously and stay home.

"The majority of the patients that we have tested positive are from Floyd County, but obviously, we have other residents from other counties that have been tested at our facility," Konijeti said. "We serve over five counties, and we have patients coming in for treatment from everywhere."

He said the numbers that are being reported daily are significantly lower than the actual number of positive cases throughout Indiana.

"The state is backlogged with updating those numbers on a daily basis," Konijeti said. "Obviously, they're dealing with a number of other fronts in addressing the pandemic."

When asked how far he believes that backlog goes, Konijeti said, "a minimum 48 hours, potentially 5-6 days."

He said another issue with the numbers is simply how long it can take to get results.

"Not all the tests are done through the health department," he said. "We have other sources we're sending the test to. Some of them for milder patients are being sent out to, for example, Lab Corps, and those take 7-9 days to come back and be resulted."

He did say some labs have access to more rapid turnaround.

As of Tuesday at noon, he said, "At Baptist Floyd, we have 13 positive patients in the hospital. We have 28 persons under investigation, or PUI, that we're waiting on results for. By the time those get updated and put in, it's obviously going to take some time."

He said he believes Floyd County will see several more cases before this pandemic starts to decline.

Floyd County's Health Officer Dr. Tom Harris is issuing the same warning and telling people to protect themselves and others by following the guidelines.

"This is a no joke disease," Harris said. "This puts you in the ICU 6% of the time. It puts you in this hospital 15% of the time. The other 80% are treated as outpatient, but I've talked to several people who have had it, I've diagnosed it, and the people, they don't look like they're comfortable. They look sick."

Health officials are asking people to follow those guidelines and to only go out for things that are essential.