Unlike Dr. Swaim, the Parke County Health Official who thinks the social distancing and state wide stay at home policy needs to END NOW, a Terre Haute doctor is asking people to do the opposite.

Dr. Brucken, the Vigo County Health Commissioner has asked residents of Vigo County to please stay home.

Brucken does not feel the same way as Dr. Swaim. Dr. Brucken thinks that the highly contagious Covid-19 virus is spreading through Terre Haute and Vigo County. He believes that if left unchecked, the local hospitals could be out of ventilators in a matter of days.

2 Very different opinions on the subject.

TerreHauteNews has been reporting that the walking “healthy” have been actively spreading the virus in Terre Haute and Vigo County for several weeks.

Terre Haute reported it’s first Confirmed case on Thursday, March 19th.

https://terrehautenews.net/2020/03/22/covid-19-officially-hits-terre-haute/

Many local residents have reported calling their doctors or going to the walk-in clinic during the first week of March.

Those “walking sick”, experiencing nasal congestion, sore throat, and often a severe headache have possibly been spreading the virus throughout the community for the past 3-4weeks, according to recent studies about the virus coming out of China.

https://www.infectioncontroltoday.com/covid-19/asymptomatic-carriers-covid-19-make-it-tough-target

As more research about the Covid-19 Pandemic becomes available, Health officials are starting to recognize that the failed attempt to merely self isolate those with a temperature over 100.4 for 3 days was a huge failure.

Terre Haute is still likely several weeks away from the peak death toll from Covid-19. Dr. Swaim would have us believe the sooner the better. Dr. Brucken thinks that a positive impact can be made from social distancing and a continuation of the stay at home orders.

Dr. Brucken stated he believes Indiana’s Death Toll could reach 2,500. While the most recent statistical model puts the number at closer to 1,000.

https://terrehautenews.net/2020/03/30/indiana-covid-19-deaths-projected-to-hit-940-by-august-4th-peak-will-be-34-deaths-per-day-around-april-18th/

These numbers would certainly not make Indiana one of the “hardest hit”, as Brucken states, but the number of deaths would be influenced by the initial exposure rate, available healthcare, and an delay in the spread while a vaccine is developing.

https://terrehautenews.net/2020/03/31/terre-haute-coronavirus-initial-surge-expected-to-hit-within-2-weeks-peak-numbers-of-infected-by-1st-week-of-may-failed-testing-policy-to-blame-for-widespread-sickness/