The more contagious strain of COVID-19 may already be in Indiana, but health officials are still waiting to find out for sure. During Wednesday’s COVID-19 press conference, State Health Commissioner Dr. Kris Box said the state lab’s surveillance efforts have turned up certain tests that could be consistent with the mutation.
“Those, then, need to be, what we call genomic sequenced, which means that we look at their entire genetic pattern, to make sure that it is truly that mutated virus,” Box explained.
Box said the tests have been sent to Eli Lilly for analysis, and results are expected sometime this month.
In any case, Box said Wednesday that the state may be seeing the start of a post-holiday surge of COVID-19. Many hospitals continue to face a lack of open beds, and the number of deaths remains high.
