LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Indiana’s top health official said Friday that she estimates about 1% of Hoosiers, or about 70,000 people, are infected with the novel coronavirus.
State Health Commissioner Dr. Kris Box said Indiana is probably actually close to the 1% statewide infection rate estimated by Dr. Amy Acton, Ohio’s state health director.
On Thursday, Acton, director of the Ohio Department of Health, said that she estimates “at the very least 1%” of Ohio’s 11.7 million people, or “over 100,000” are infected.
Dr. Amy Acton, director of the Ohio Department of Health.
For Indiana, the 1% figure would be somewhere near 70,000. The state reported no new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, leaving its total at 12.
Box made the comments as a top federal health official said the government is failing to account for what could be thousands of additional infections because of ongoing problems with testing.
Meanwhile, Kentucky officials said Friday that they did not want to speculate on how many of the 4.5 million Kentuckians are affected.
Dr. Steven Stack, commissioner for the Kentucky Department of Health and Family Services, said he is in communication with Acton, and the two share information, including data from epidemiologists who model how the disease behaves.
“We don’t have enough data yet for me to give you a valid speculation about what … the true burden of disease is,” Stack said.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Dr. Steven Stack, commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Health and Family Services, right.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said Acton’s report “suggested to us … that we need to take the steps that we are taking to … ensure that we act now and we don’t act too late.
“I don’t want to speculate on a figure that we don’t have widespread testing to ... really confirm and I don’t want to create additional fear in folks," Beshear added.
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- Ohio's top health official estimates 100,000 people in Ohio infected with novel coronavirus
- No new coronavirus cases identified in Indiana Friday; total in state remains at 12
The Associated Press contributed to this story. Copyright 2020 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.
