WISH-TV | wishtv.com
New COVID-19 data has been released by the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH).
ISDH says 3,481 more Hoosiers have tested positive for COVID-19; those tests were recorded between Nov. 12 and Nov. 16. A total of 1,061,791 Hoosiers have tested positive for COVID-19 since March 2020.
The ISDH coronavirus dashboard reported 41 additional deaths from COVID-19 in Indiana from Sept. 30 to Nov. 16. A total of 16,618 Hoosiers have died from COVID-19. Another 573 “probable” deaths have occurred, but a positive test is not on record.
The seven-day positivity rate for unique individuals stands at 18.1 percent. The seven-day positivity rate for all tests is 9.3 percent. A total of 15,030,546 tests have been administered to 4,450,894 Hoosiers.
There are currently 1,483 Hoosiers hospitalized with COVID-19.
ISDH says 7,442,290 vaccination doses have been administered to Hoosiers, and 3,405,785 Hoosiers are fully vaccinated.
According to the Regenstrief Institute, 986,155 Hoosiers are estimated to have recovered from the virus.
According to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University, there have been more than 254,753,000 confirmed cases worldwide, with more than 5,120,000 deaths.
More information, including interactive graphs, can be found here.
New study finds deer are carriers of COVID-19, raises question if they can transmit virus to humans
By DR. MARY GILLIS, D.Ed.
WISH-TV | wishtv.com
Scientists have found white-tailed deer are carriers of the coronavirus. This is according to a new study by researchers at Penn State University.
Scientists assessed 283 white-tailed deer for COVID-19. A total of 151 were wild while the remainder were held captive. Of the 283 samples, 33 percent tested positive for COVID-19.
This raises the question of whether it’s possible for animals to infect people. News 8 spoke with Dr. Wendy Beauvais, assistant professor at Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine, who says the answer is no … for now.
“The study authors did write that there was evidence supporting transmission between deer as well as from the human population,” Beauvais said. “We don’t have clear evidence that I am aware of that the virus can be transmitted to humans yet.”
Another question remains: Can deer spread the virus to other animals? Again, Beauvais said, that is still a mystery.
But one thing is for certain. Beauvais advises taking all sanitary precautions when preparing to eat deer meat. This includes wearing gloves, washing hands and quickly removing the carcass.