The Cass County Health Department (CCHD), the City of Logansport, the Cass County Commissioners, and Logansport Memorial Hospital (LMH) held a joint press conference earlier today to discuss the state of COVID-19 in Cass County.
As of April 27, 2020
As of today, Cass County has 1,025 confirmed positive cases of COVID-19. This number is now reflected on the Indiana State Department of Health’s website. This situation is evolving quickly and the Cass County Health Department anticipates the number of positive cases to continue growing rapidly.
The severity of this public health situation will exceed the hospital’s capacity to care for all individuals affected. As individuals present to Logansport Memorial Hospital with various symptoms, either due to COVID-19 or to other illness or injury, they will be triaged and directed appropriately for the care they need.
Based on this information, and because of the current state of COVID-19 in Cass County, the Cass County Health Department, the City of Logansport, the Cass County Commissioners, and Logansport Memorial Hospital are declaring a public health emergency.
Executive Order 20-02
The City of Logansport is issuing a new Executive Order 20-02 and the Cass County Commissioners are issuing Ordinance No. 2020, to enforce additional safety precautions throughout the community as a result of this new information. A summary of those directives is below:
- Customers are limited to one (1) person per family while shopping at essential retail establishments.
- Each person entering any essential establishment should wear a mask that covers their nose and mouth.
- Children under the age of 16 will not be allowed into essential retail establishments.
- All essential retail establishments in the City of Logansport and in Cass County shall limit the number of customers in their establishment at one time, following these guidelines:
- Allow no more than two (2) customers per 1,000 square feet of retail space.
- If more than 62,000 square feet of retail space, allowance is capped at 125 customers at one time.
- If 2,000 square feet of retail space or less, you may allow up to five (5) customers at one time.
- Essential retail establishments shall actively monitor and enforce these limits.
- All previous executive orders and ordinances continue to be in effect, including restrictions placed on restaurants limiting them to drive-thru, curb-side, and delivery services only.
- These directives will remain in effect until further notice.
This has been a coordinated effort and united community response in addressing how COVID-19 is impacting Cass County. Each of these organizations sincerely asks the community to closely follow these directives. Now more than ever, it is critical that citizens STAY HOME and minimize contact with others outside of their immediate family living in the same household, as much as possible.
Additional information
Other important points of information shared at the press conference included:
- If you have tested negative for COVID-19, but are still experiencing symptoms or develop any of the associated symptoms (fever, cough, difficulty breathing, diarrhea, vomiting) – please seek medical care.
- With this surge in positive cases, Logansport Memorial Hospital is not equipped with enough staff or resources to care for everyone. Patients who are hospitalized for COVID-19 illness are needing to stay longer in the hospital for ongoing medical care, due to the severity of their symptoms.
- Please be aware that at this time, individuals with injuries or illness other than COVID-19 may be sent or transferred for care to hospitals in surrounding counties, due to the volume of COVID-19 positive patients at Logansport Memorial Hospital.
As stated before, this is an evolving situation and our response is changing quickly – daily, hourly, by the minute in some cases – based on the needs of the patients and the needs of the community at large. Each of these organizations is working very closely together to support one another during this time. Local health officials from the CCHD and LMH are working closely with the Indiana State Department of Health, to make the most informed decisions that we can, with the safety and the best interest of all Cass County citizens in mind.
Additional updates will be shared with the community as the situation changes going forward.
