INDIANAPOLIS — Tuesday's latest updates on the coronavirus pandemic.
Plainfield Schools staff member tests positive
A Plainfield Schools’ employee has tested positive for COVID-19 before school has even started. The employee reported the diagnosis, which led to the school identifying two other staff members that had been in close contact.
The employees have been quarantined and will not be present when the school year begins. The district is reminding parents to look for symptoms and keep home any students exhibiting symptoms.
Plainfield students are set to return to school on Aug. 5.
Brownsburg Schools first positive case
Brownsburg Community School Corporation notified parents on Tuesday of a confirmed COVID-19 case at Brownsburg High School.
Students and staff who have had close contact with the individual are being notified about the next steps. Close contact is anyone who had contact of less than six feet for 15 minutes or more.
Areas the infected person came in contact with at the school have already been sanitized and disinfected.
ISDH update
The Indiana State Department of health is reporting 836 new cases of COVID-19. That brings the total for positive cases in the state to 69,255. The seven-day average positivity rate is now at 7.3 percent.
Indiana is also reporting 14 more deaths for a total of 2,794. The vast majority of the deaths have been in people 60 and older.
Latest US, world numbers
There have been 4.71 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. as of 3:30 a.m. ET Tuesday, according to Johns Hopkins University. There have been more than 155,000 deaths and 1.51 million people recovered.
Worldwide, there have been 18.28 million confirmed cases with more than 693,000 deaths and 10.91 million recoveries.
For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death.
People encouraged to turn on blue lights instead of gatherings for National Night Out
National Night Out is being celebrated differently on Tuesday, Aug. 4 in Indianapolis due to the coronavirus pandemic.
For this year's celebration, people are encouraged to turn on a blue light outside their homes instead of gatherings or walks. The idea of the lights is to allow for a socially-distanced response.
National Night Out, celebrated annually on the first Tuesday in August, traditionally promotes police-community partnerships; crime, drug and violence prevention; safety and neighborhood unity.
Cleveland Clinic warns against wearing gloves to grocery store amid coronavirus
Taking to its Facebook page on Monday morning, the Cleveland Clinic reposted a story it published in April about "why you shouldn't wear gloves to the grocery store."
In doing so, the Clinic shared a chart that shared other tips for shopping amid the coronavirus pandemic, including to wear a mask, skip the gloves, shop quickly and efficiently, stay six feet away from others, limit what you touch and only go when you need to.
While the Cleveland Clinic said that it's not necessarily wrong to wear gloves, per se, incorrect use by many ultimately make them an ineffective measure.
“We’re seeing a lot of people out in public wearing gloves, which isn’t wrong so to say,” said infectious disease specialist Patricia Dandache, MD. “But unfortunately most people aren’t wearing or disposing of their gloves correctly, which defeats the whole purpose.
“Many people don’t take off their gloves the right way, further contaminating themselves and others around them,” she continued. “And you should never, ever reuse gloves.”
As for how to shop safely, Dr. Dandache advises, "social distancing, not touching your face, sanitizing your hands after you’re done shopping, followed by washing your hands is a reasonable approach to avoid acquiring the virus in the store." If you want to wear gloves, the following tips are recommended for safely removing them:
- Grasp the outside of one glove at the wrist without touching your skin.
- Peel the glove away from your body by pulling it inside out.
- Hold the removed glove in your other gloved hand
- To peel off the second glove, put your fingers inside the glove at the top of your wrist.
- Turn the second glove inside out, pulling it away from your body, while leaving the first glove inside the second.
- Throw the gloves away in the trash immediately
- Wash your hands or use hand sanitizer immediately after removing your gloves.
Avon staff member tests positive
Another staff member at Avon High School has tested positive for COVID-19.
Avon was one of the first schools to return last week. Parents got a voice message Monday evening notifying them of the positive test.
Last week, another staff member tested positive for the virus, but that person had not been in the school, nor had they been in close contact with any other staff or students.
School will resume Tuesday as normal, but every room the staff member may have impacted is getting a deep cleaning Monday night.
Everyone who was in close contact with the infected staff member was contacted directly about what they need to do.