(WEHT) The surge of COVID cases continues to grow in the Tri-State. New cases are being reported at higher levels than when the pandemic began. And deaths from the virus are being reported at an alarming rate. The Tri-State is breaking records on the same day the World Health Organization announced a new daily record high in coronavirus cases worldwide, with more than 350, 000 infections.
Since Sunday, 36 people in the Tri-State have died from coronavirus. Henderson has more than doubled their total; the county has reported nine deaths this week. Before Sunday, the county only had five deaths since the first reported case on March 19. Mayor Steve Austin held a press conference Friday, urging people to follow health guidelines to curb the virus’ spread. During the month of September, Henderson County reported 329 new cases. In the first nine days of October, there have been 217 new cases reported.
Vanderburgh County has also seen a huge spike in cases. On Friday, the health department reported the biggest single day surge in cases; they added 126 new cases. The county also reported 4 more deaths, the most the county has ever reported in a single day.
In an effort to curb the rise in new positive cases, Evansville Mayor Lloyd Winnecke signed an executive order restricting social gatherings from 500 people to 125. The order goes into effect on Oct. 19.
Health officials are concerned people are letting their guard down and not following guidelines when attending personal events, such as a wedding or family or friend gathering. In both Henderson and Vanderburgh counties, officials have said small gatherings are to blame for the spread of the virus.
Gibson County reported 31 new cases on Friday. This is the biggest single day surge in cases for the county.
| County | New cases reported Oct. 4 – 9 | New deaths reported Oct. 4 – 9 | Total cases | Total deaths |
| Dubois | 66 | 1 | 1,125 | 20 |
| Gibson | 106 | 3 | 703 | 9 |
| Perry | 9 | 0 | 249 | 13 |
| Pike | 23 | 2 | 255 | 6 |
| Posey | 83 | 1 | 504 | 3 |
| Spencer | 30 | 1 | 322 | 3 |
| Vanderburgh | 499 | 9 | 4,652 | 41 |
| Warrick | 137 | 4 | 1,638 | 56 |
| Daviess | 151 | 6 | 1,622 | 22 |
| Hancock | 8 | 0 | 91 | 0 |
| Henderson | 114 | 9 | 1,001 | 14 |
| Hopkins | 123 | 0 | 793 | 38 |
| McLean | 9 | 0 | 102 | 1 |
| Muhlenberg | 27 | 0 | 454 *(does not include cases at GRCC) | 12 |
| Ohio | 31 | 0 | 522 | 9 |
| Union | 31 | 0 | 401 | 3 |
| Webster | 30 | 0 | 234 | 3 |
| Edwards | did not report | — | — | — |
| Wabash | 13 | 0 | 188 | 174 |
| Wayne | 25 | 2 | 336 | 9 |
| White | 19 | 0 | 205 | 1 |
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(This story was originally published on Oct. 9, 2020)