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Yes, although it is only at the Optum testing sites and it is free even though they are a private company. There are 83 Optum sites throughout the state. However, the other 116 hospital-run sites still have stipulations such as health-care worker, symptomatic, etc. From the ISDH website, "Anyone who lives or works in Indiana can be tested at an Optum site."

Testing being open for anyone who wants it beginning last week is probably the reason for the high number of tests. My wife got one Wednesday and got the results back on Friday (negative).

I finally got the answer for Allen Co. Indiana's spike. There is a large Burmese presence and it it is spreading rapidly among that population.

I can't answer that. Having many friends there and living only 20 miles away, I try to keep up on what's happening, but can offer no explanation, although I'll do some research. BTW, I have another friend who has contracted it that is (was) a healthy female in her 40's, although she manages a busy doctor's office in Fort Wayne. She is hospitalized and very ill.

I know four people who have/had it. One friend died (underlying health issues). Two others had extensive stays in icu. Both families were prepared for the worst, and both nearly didn’t make it. One is a female in her 50’s and healthy, although is/was a smoker. Covid cured her. The other is a male in his early 40’s and had no health issues. The fourth is an otherwise healthy male in his late 40’s. He simply isolated at home, and is just now back to 100% after several weeks.

The Mayor's office just sent this out. A pretty good representation of what's happened and what will happen, IF people behave.

I'm not sure how they picked the areas from which they randomly picked the test subjects, but they did take some demographics into account: " In the first phase, more than 3,600 people were randomly selected and an additional 900 volunteers were recruited through outreach to the African American and Hispanic communities to more accurately represent state demographics."

I was going to post the results of that Fairbanks study this morning, but have been busy dealing with it at work today. The study involved picking over 4,500 people around the state at random for testing. Of the 2.8%, 1.7% tested positive and 1.1% were positive for antibodies. Based on the study results of 45% being asymptomatic, there could have been up to 83,700 people in Indiana shedding at any one point. That doesn't sound too bad until you factor in people who refuse to wear masks, say it's not their problem, etc. As you said though, the major goal is getting the high risk people protected.

Can you still buy those?

That's what I was thinking. I actually had a mullet once, in 1989. I don't know what got into me.

It seemed weird to me too. I have a spotter who lives about 8 miles due east of the airport (in extreme northeastern Huntington County) who reported that winds there were no stronger than 40 mph, which was about the strongest we had here in Huntington. I saw some scattered damage reports ENE of the airport, but nothing that would suggest 75mph + gusts.

I have been beating this drum ad nauseam, but it seems that a large sector of the US public is blind to the ultimate goal of "nothing happens."

Even though the elderly and/or immune-suppressed are the most prevalent victims, I will reiterate my earlier post. I personally know two middle-aged, previously perfectly healthy victims who are probably going to recover, but have gone through hell on earth. One was in the hospital for three and a half weeks and she is still recovering at home two weeks later. The other is on his fifth week in the hospital, not yet close to getting out, and spent a long time on a ventilator. Argue all you want about the economic impacts, the impact on business and industry, politicize it all you want, but it's not the common flu boys and girls. There is no vaccine or antidote.

Personally speaking, it wasn't overhyped. I've had one friend die from it, although he had other high-risk health issues. I also have two other friends who have it. One was in the hospital for two weeks and the other is still in the hospital and has been there for four weeks. Both of these individuals were healthy and are middle-aged. There were times when the prognosis was grim for both and I thought I was going to lose three friends from it. I completely agree with the State of Indiana's response. I work in Emergency Management and we (along with the Health Dept.) head up the local response and PPE acquisitions. I continue to tell people that proclaim it is an overreaction because the numbers haven't hit computer model projections, "You're welcome." Because if nothing had been done, it would have been ugly, especially for the high-risk groups.

I read them and agree. Unfortunately for my wife, I have been privately voicing the same thoughts, albeit not so eloquently, for a few years now.

Sorry Hoosier, that was my fault. I know 4 people who have contracted Covid and three of the four may not make it. Then Jack's post upset me. I'm trying to stay neutral and do my job of helping those in need, but it has hit really close to home. Our agency's work right now involves trying to get our frontliners the PPE to do the job safely, as well as keep residents in long-term health care facilities safe. That's close to home too, because I have several friends working with these high-risk residents. This is not official, but I can foresee the stay-at-home declaration remaining in Indiana until at least the first full week of May and maybe the second week. Once again, I didn't mean to inject politics into this, I'm just frustrated by how slow the wheels sometimes turns.

I'm very sorry for your loss Jack. From your description, he sounds like the type friend that everyone wishes they had and needs. My prayers go out to you and his family. My job has me right in the middle of this and that story just breaks my heart. In my position, I can't express my political views. I have to be apolitical. That being said, I know that it is water under the bridge now, but when the CDC declared a public health emergency on January 30th, THAT's when action should have been taken, not waiting until the middle of March. Talk about closing the gate after the cows got out. Instead, what we heard from leadership was that this was a Democratic party hoax. I don't care if the President is Republican, Democrat, Independent, or a Martian, that was poor display of leadership. This type of event is a REAL type of threat to our great country. Sorry that I made this post a rant, but when I hear a story like this, it hits home pretty hard. Once again my condolences to you Jack.

My thoughts exactly.

Marion County (Indy) has 44% of all of the cases in Indiana. In fact, the only other counties in triple digits of cases are Johnson and Hamilton which are both suburbs of Indy and Lake which is next to Chicago. It's very obvious that social distancing makes the difference.

Yeah, they do have low density populations, but there's also very little business and industry. Many of those people in the southeastern counties commute to Cincinnati. The same goes for the southern counties along the Ohio which are part of greater metropolitan Louisville.

This is the kind of crap that is showing up on social media. To my Canadian friends, tell me that this is not true. "All schools in Canada are closed for the rest of the school year, each family will receive $950 every two weeks for the next 15 weeks, banks were notify to suspend mortgage payments for at least 6 months, and student loans deferred. Imagine if the United States did this."

That, if true, is a prime example of what will be the downfall of this great country.

I attend a large church which had already started broadcasting the services long before this happened. That's a great ministry for taking care of the high risk elderly. At least you're reaching out. I hope you're right about possibly only a couple of weeks. As Stebo mentioned above, the Detroit area was completely devastated back in '09.

Oh crap, the Big three shutting down? This will have a disastrous economic effect around here

I did the same on Friday. No fever, no respiratory problems. I assume that it's just a head cold. So, I stayed home from work and stayed home all weekend. I am working from home today. Not only would people freak out if they hear me coughing, I don't want to be exposed to something worse when my immune system is already taxed.