(Greencastle, Ind.) Putnam County officials provided a daily COVID-19 update to the publictoday, which includes an increase in confirmed cases.

Currently, there are 13 confirmed cases in Putnam County. The Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) as of today, is sharing the number of individuals who have been tested on its website. According to the ISDH, the number of tests is provisional and reflects only those reported to ISDH. Numbers should not be characterized as a comprehensive total.

Additional updates include:

Putnam County Hospital has created a COVID-19 hotline : The hotline is staffed from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., seven days a week. Citizens can call the hotline at 765-301-7019 tospeak to a healthcare provider to address questions or concerns about the virus.

No visitor policy at Putnam County Hospital in place: Putnam County Hospital enacteda no visitors policy yesterday to protect patients and the hospital community from COVID-19. To learn more, visit www.pchosp.org.

Citizens should adhere to the CDC guidelines and practice social distancing when picking up groceries, getting gas or picking up prescriptions. A distance of six feet is required by the CDC. Visit www.cdc.gov for more information.

The Indiana Department of Education has cancelled all in-person K-12 classes for the 2019-2020 school year. To learn more, visit www.doe.in.gov/covid-19.

It is imperative individuals take action to avoid COVID-19 to prevent its spread. A number of preventive steps include:

Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.

Don’t touch your eyes, nose, or mouth, especially with unwashed hands. Avoid close contact with people who are showing symptoms of illness. Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.

Cover your cough or sneezes with a tissue or sneeze into your elbow.

Throw the tissue in the garbage and make sure to clean your hands afterwards. Stay home when you are sick.

We are all in this together.

Putnam County is providing regular updates on COVID-19 to citizens as part of its effort to complement the daily updates from the ISDH. The ISDH updates occur at 10 a.m. and can be

accessed via www.coronavirus.in.gov . Please refer to the above statement regarding the number of tests the ISDH lists on its website.

To learn more about Putnam County’s coordinated response to COVID-19, please visit the Putnam County Hospital at www.pchosp.org/covid-19-updates or the Putnam County Health Department at www.putnamhealthindiana.org.